Do you have what it takes to be faithful without the reward?
“For better or for worse, do you take this person to be your lawfully wedded wife/husband.”
We all know the vows you promise when getting married. And we promise them wholeheartedly on that day. But then we look at the divorce rate and the number of “unhappy” marriages and wonder what happens to the relationships after that special day in white.
FAITHFULLNESS is the word that pops up in my mind. Being faithful according to the dictionary means, “Remaining loyal or steadfast.” Who better than soldiers to demonstrate this meaning to us? Through ups and downs, while being captured or while free, soldiers are faithful. They stay loyal. They look out for each other. They do what’s expected of them, if they want to or not. They are not driven by “feeling” or “emotional” states. They have the goal in mind and they fight to protect that.
Marriage is “the legally or formally recognized union of two people as partners in a personal relationship” according to the dictionary. It’s a promise, a vow you make to the other person saying that you will be in union with them, ALWAYS. Even during the bad times, the times of sickness, of being poor…But when the “bad” times take too long according to our liking, we want “out.” We struggle to stay FAITHFUL to this person, to our promise.
God wants FAITH from us. He wants us to believe in Him, in His ways, without ever “seeing” Him. We need to trust Him and His ways that just doesn’t make sense to us. The same way the soldiers need to trust the instructions they receive and to follow it, no matter the outcome. We need to stay FAITHFUL to God, regardless of our financials state, regardless of our position in the society, regardless of good/bad times, because we need to keep our eyes on the end goal…eternity. By sacrificing our time, our own wants and needs, staying faithful without understanding, we are busy investing in a much bigger, more long lasting and important end goal.
"God wants FAITH from us."
Also, when you practice being faithful – to your spouse, to your friends, to your neighbour your not so crazy about, to God…you will usually experience breakthrough – either personal breakthrough, sometimes financial breakthrough, sometimes breakthrough in our relationships – and God promises that He has GOOD plans for us in mind, so breakthrough is usually followed by something “good.”
The problem is, we want to be faithful JUST TO GET THE “GOOD”, THE “BLESSINGS”. We, so often, end up disappointed BECAUSE THE GOOD just hasn’t happened yet, and I’ve been faithful for a week/a year/maybe 5 years! But because the good doesn’t show up in our timeframe we just want “out” because God doesn’t hear us/doesn’t care. How can He love me? But what was your heart while being “faithful?” Us humans usually want to do something BECAUSE OF THE REWARD and not just do it because it’s the right thing to do and see the reward as a bonus.
In our relationship with our spouse, with our friends, with our children, with God…Let’s be FAITHFUL like good soldiers. Let’s do it through good and bad times, like we’ve promised. Even if there’s no “reward.” But when we’re rewarded for our faithfulness, let’s have thankful hearts then, knowing it’s not a given, not something we’ve earned, but something God wants us to enjoy!
God bless and wonderful week to you!
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