Saturday, October 17, 2015
Faithful
There it was;
right on time as always. It was 6:53
a.m. when it peeked over the horizon, splashing brilliant pastels, in
ever-changing hues, onto the billowing
clouds that drifted in front of a pale blue sky. It illuminated the skyline just like it did
73,390 sunrises before - on the day Francis Scott Key wrote of "the dawn's
early light." The rising of the sun
can be immensely comforting. While
kingdoms have risen and fallen... while social experiments have been tried...
while people have become famous and then crashed down from their lofty
perches... while hypotheses have been proposed and then disproven... the sun
has been faithful.
Faithfulness
is a rare gem. There are precious few
principles or people who are truly faithful.
It may, in fact, be faithfulness that is God's most defining
characteristic. What He said yesterday,
He will stick by today. Some may resent
His unchanging nature, but for those who know Him, it is an anchor for their
soul. You can count on Him as surely as
you can count on tomorrow's sunrise.
I am so
thankful for people who have taken on this
godly trait. There are few things that
bring greater joy than a spouse who is faithful. Nothing builds confidence and security like a
parent who doesn't leave. Even our work places
are enhanced by those employees and bosses who can be trusted to show up and do
what they do every day. Faithful people
bring stability to a chaotic world.
I am
increasingly grateful for the people who are faithful to the church I
oversee. They keep the lights on. It is because of the faithful among us that
I can walk into church, confident that the restrooms will be clean and the
sound system will be working. I can
bring a child to class knowing that someone has lovingly prepared activities to
help them learn about the eternal God and His principles - even though they do
not receive a dime for their efforts. If
it weren't for them, many people would not have had a place to find forgiveness,
be healed, or be delivered from a life-threatening addiction. These people are not sinless, like God, but
they show up and let God shine through them.
They are often the sunrise in someone else's life. These are people who
give to others each week without expecting notoriety or compensation. They have somehow tapped into God as their
resource and become the means by which God expresses His faithfulness to people
who have not yet had a personal encounter with Him. Their worth is incalculable.
Before the sun goes
down today, it might be good to thank one of those faithful people who have touched
your life. If you are in a chaotic
season of life, you might do well to get up early and watch the sun rise
tomorrow. Contemplate the faithfulness
of the Creator. Talk to Him about your
world and ask Him to open your eyes to His faithfulness. He has been answering prayers and helping
people become more personally aware of His presence in their lives for
thousands of years. You can count on
Him. He is faithful.
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