The Fruit of Faithfulness: The Lasting Impact of Joyful Obedience

Faithfulness has been on my mind recently; especially in a time where faithlessness seems to be the all consuming virtue. When we think of faithlessness we can often think of it in terms of a marriage covenant in light of adultery, but a closer look would lead one to see it has infected other areas of our society as well. We even see it within the church! How often do we find a member of a single church who has been serving there faithfully for 15 years, let alone 30?

Friendships dissipating when the relationship becomes difficult or costly.

Parents abdicating the responsibility of their children.

When one volunteers eagerly, but then disappearing when the work becomes unglamourous, repetitive or ‘not filling their cup’.

Our political and civic leaders have become a bastion of faithlessness; it’s in the news cycle when a political leader does keep their promises (whether for the better or the worse).

I have been guilty of most of the above and probably many more transgressions in unfaithfulness. I am not without sin in this area. We live in a time of abandoned commitments. Marriages are discarded, friendships shatter at the first hint of strain, church members come and go (or their desire to volunteer anything that is costly). Faithfulness has become so rare that when we encounter it, it stands out.

Faithfulness, however, is a rare treasure indeed and summed up in the One who has set the ultimate standard of what it is;

“…if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” ~2 Timothy 2:13

God is our ultimate authority and example of what it means to be faithful in all things. We hear time and time again of His faithfulness to a people who constantly stray away from Him, but He still upholds those whom He has chosen; it is entirely because of His faithfulness to His sheep that we even have an inkling of understanding of what faithfulness looks like.

For the Christian, faithfulness is not merely a personality trait that only the ‘best of us’ possess, but it is a Christian virtue that God commands and commends. We see this in the Parable of the Talents, 1 Corinthians 4:2, Revelation 2:10 and Galatians 5:22-23 to name a few. Faithfulness is ultimately fulfilled in Christ (as are all our ‘good’ works), but is still our duty to render unto Him all that is due Him.

There are many stories and examples of the faithfulness I have seen from people in my own life; times where my fellow saints’ faithfulness has been a salve of edification or a rod of correction to my soul. However, I must confess that I do have a favorite example that stands out whenever I think about faithfulness.

When I was in 6th grade, my family and I lived in a quiet townhome area. We moved there after coming back from staying in Georgia and I had started adjusting to my new community at my middle school. Two houses down lived a man with 3 dogs and a porta potty attached to the back of his work truck (not for no reason mind you, it was a part of his job)! He always had a smile to offer my family and I. He was a kind conversationalist to my mom whenever she was outside. I hardly ever wanted to interact with him, so I would keep to myself if I saw him outside; unless of course he had one of his dogs outside with him, then I suppose I could tolerate his presence! He would often let my mom know about various events happening at his church and would invite us all to attend. He would do this pretty often, quite a few times a month. I am not sure why, but we never went. We had been taken to church before, but for whatever reason, we were not in church during this time.

Something else that stood out to me about this man, aside from how friendly I found him to be, was his patience. After about a year of living there, my two sisters started asking Mr. Kevin if they could walk one of his three dogs. And this man would gladly give them Beau the Beagle’s leash and allow them to walk him. Imagine two little kids knocking on your door, sometimes twice a day, to ask if they could walk your dog. And, instead of scolding them to leave you alone, kindly allowing them this small joy. For a year and some change Mr. Kevin patiently, kindly and with joy let them walk his dog (and me too after I started warming up to him!). And, more importantly, for nearly 2 years, he would faithfully invite us to come to church.

He invited us over those two years and not once did we step inside his church. That never stopped him from extending the invitation.

Then, one day, we moved away. We said goodbye to Mr. Kevin and his beloved dogs. We were sad to leave, but excited about moving to a new home. We didn’t move far, just about a 10 minute drive. It was either the end of 7th grade or the beginning of 8th grade, my mom decided to take us to church. While trying to figure our where we should go that Sunday, she asked if we remembered the name of the church our old neighbor kept inviting us to. Of course I remembered; how could I not after this man invited us all the time! We loaded up in the car and drove to the church that we had been invited to for nearly 2 whole years. Time has erased my memory of that first Sunday there; after all it wasn’t anything novel for me at the time. However, I do remember Mr. Kevin smiling, eyes squinting as they do when he smiles that big, when he saw us. He welcomed us, making no mention of “well it’s about time!”. Instead he greeted us and was genuinely happy to see us there.

From then on Mr. Kevin eventually became our youth leader at that church. My mom would drop us off Sundays and on Wednesday nights for youth group. A majority of my foundational knowledge of what it meant to be a Christian came from him and later other faithful Christians at that church.

Because of one man’s faithfulness in inviting a family to his church over the course of about 2 years, the Lord saved me my 10th grade year.

I saw first hand the depravity of my sin and the dark places it had led. I heard the Gospel and was saved by Christ’s work on Calvary. I am not saying that the Lord wouldn’t have had another way to get His message to me, but I will absolutely say that it was His grace and mercy alone that saved me when He did; and he used Mr. Kevin to be His hands and feet. He used the people at that church to grow me in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” ~Galatians 6:9

Mr. Kevin, over the years, became more than a neighbor or a youth pastor or a friend; he became a spiritual father and a brother in Christ. Not just to me, but to multiple youth. He was patient, kind and self sacrificing (did I mention he would drive the church van to pick up all of us teens who didn’t have parents who attended the church?).

But, of course, the Lord in His goodness did so much more than save me through Mr. Kevin’s continued invitations (although, should that have been the only gift from God, it would have been enough.) It was at that church, the summer after my 9th grade year, that I met my now husband. My first boyfriend. And from him, a family who has been nothing less than a gift to me. Mr. Kevin was there for our first few conversations and shaking his head when my husband and I found we had a mutual love for “anti-jokes”.

Because of Mr. Kevin’s faithfulness, I married my best friend and have grown even deeper in the love of the Lord (all glory and honor to Christ.)..

Because of Mr. Kevin’s faithfulness, I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good…

Because of Mr. Kevin’s faithfulness, I have a life that I am so entirely grateful for..

He and I both know that, ultimately, it wasn’t through his faithfulness that I was saved from the bondage of my sin, but the faithfulness of Christ. But Mr. Kevin displayed what human faithfulness looks like in obedience to God.

May this be a lesson to all of us not to grow tired of doing good, but instead to press on. Extend the invitation over and over again. Be faithful in our daily pursuits, faithful in our prayers for those not yet saved, especially since we do not know which of those pursuits could lead to someone one day walking with the Lord.

I hope that when he sees me and my family, that he sees what a season of faithfulness looks like; I hope he sees the goodness of God. Most importantly, however, I hope that he reaps encouragement in the hard seasons that happen to all of us; that he is reminded, ultimately, that the Lord is faithful to His people and that He will never let His people perish.

The Lord is so good…

…and Mr. Kevin is Mr. Awesome.