Faithfulness and Faith

As I have been looking through the fruit of the Spirit of late, my focus has been turned to the seventh fruit listed, faithfulness.

Faithfulness, to me, speaks of dependability, fidelity and reliability. It is an essential quality in marriage, and a powerful foundation in friendship. It is the relationship between Jonathan and his armour-bearer, or, in Tolkien, Sam to Frodo. With faithful companionship, terrible circumstances are traversed with a sense of peace because of the mutual support and confidence they share.

We know faithfulness is a trait of God. God’s love and faithfulness could be seen as his most hope-inspiring qualities.  

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Ps 23:4)

The Psalmist, David, lived a life that was ever aware of the threat of death. He has faced many dangers – fighting wild animals in defence of his sheep, standing against Goliath on behalf of God and the Israelites. He lived a time as an exile, threatened by the very king he was already anointed to replace. In each case, he is confident in the goodness of God and His unfailing kindness towards him in the midst of each danger. David is a great example of someone who has a personal and profound revelation of God’s faithfulness and trusted God with a deep faith.

The Greek word for faithfulness is used regularly in the Greek New Testament to describe faith. This word is “pistis”.

This surprised me when I first realised it, but it made sense the more I thought of it.

Faith, as a Christian context, speaks of our knowing, hope and expectation in the goodness of God. Faith has a knowledge of the goodness of God and compels us to live in that expectancy. If faithfulness is a descriptor of His goodness, faith is how it is real to us, and how it becomes real and manifest in our lives. Faith is where our hope in God becomes solid proof. Faith is more than mental cognition; there is a deep convergence between our human spirit and the Holy Spirit into something that exists beyond words.

The Holy Spirit, God’s presence in us, does bring to our hearts faith as It knows His characteristic and makes it known to us. It brings to our lives not just the mind of Christ, but to our hearts and lives the characteristics of Christ too.

Faith is a form of worship, and God is enthroned on our worship.

The fruit of the Spirit are generally geared towards our connection and interaction with our neighbours, as much as it is with God. So, how is faithfulness a fruit of the Spirit?

Yes, this defines our relationship with God, we know these words can be used to define the trustworthiness of God, but it also defines us in our relationship with God as well as our relationships with our neighbours.

Pistis defines someone who is honest, not selfish and someone who does not just look out for themselves or their own interests. It puts value on the other person, on God, and our thoughts and actions towards others and God will change as we grow in it.

As much as we can depend on the faithfulness and fidelity of God to be trustworthy and dependable, can our neighbours yet share the same belief in us? Do we yet share the same selflessness? Can our friends have faith in us?

I hope the answer we can honestly give ourselves is yes, but  undoubtedly, there is still more that we can grow. We can’t change overnight – but as much as we can see the value of having faithful people in our lives, and know more and more how much we can lean on God in faith, we can see in our own lives the ways we grow. 

We are all on a journey, and I have no doubt that God is neither surprised or disappointed with the person that you are today. You never know, perhaps tomorrow you can indeed be the trustworthy person someone needs – and even show some of God’s character as you do.