The Faithfulness of God

 

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:4–9 ESV).

 

The simple declaration of the Apostle Paul at the end of our reading today is that “God is faithful” (v. 9). I cannot count the number of times I have been asked how this can be true. The context is usually in the midst of severe trial or feelings of loss. Often it is the thought people have as they have prayed and prayed for the intervention of God on behalf of a loved one and it seems as if God has abandoned them in a capricious choice of inaction.  

 

This month’s devotionals will focus on God’s faithfulness to his people—all who believe in the Lord and trust in his promises. The story of God’s love and care for us is presented in the Bible, where we read of God’s plan to bring redemption to the world and to bless all nations through his people, from whom the Savior of the world has come. That Savior is Jesus Christ, whose birth was foretold in one of the Bible’s earliest chapters. I pray that we will reflect together on how God worked faithfully for generations to bring about his salvation, and how the Lord welcomes, leads, and guides us into full life in his kingdom today.

 

Let me share one illustration at the beginning of our study that comes from Fr. Gregory Pine, who is an American Dominican friar and theologian. Pine is an assistant professor of Dogmatic and Moral theology at the Dominican House of Studies and an Assistant director of the Thomistic Institute. Recently, while listening to a podcast he was featured in, he said that Jesus often uses illustrations from the agriculture. We shouldn’t be surprised by this as we are plainly told that Adam and Eve were created in part to care for the Garden of Eden where they were placed.

 

Pine said that we often find our the task of caring for a garden uninspiring; however, when we think of the entire process it is an incredible look at how we can order our lives. If I were to desire to plant some summer vegetables, my first task would be to prepare the ground. That might involve breaking up and tilling the ground. It certainly would be essential for me to remove all the weeds in the spot I had chosen. It might take days to finish the task, but at the end of it I could look at the plot and admire the clear ground I’d created. However, it would be very unsatisfying to stop at that point. All I’d have would be a bare plot of dirt. The next step would be to plant those vegetables I want to harvest. I would certainly want tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. I might want to plant some onions or even lettuce. Once the seed begins to sprout and the plants mature they would flower and produce their respective fruit. It would be a much more beautiful plot.

 

Often we are only able to see the tilled soil and bare ground of the beginning of the work of God that we call sanctification. It may be hard and painful to see ourselves at that point. There are those times when the bare plot of our lives will seem empty and worthless. However, that is but the beginning of the work of the Holy Spirit. Unlike us, He is never tempted to quit before the harvest is full and plentiful. That is the faithfulness of God. He has a plan and is in the process of making it a reality in us. We will see this in each of the examples I’ve chosen to look at in the coming month.

 

For now, trust His faithfulness!