Are You Faithful?

I think many of us misunderstand "faithfulness". Maybe we have confused the word faithful with successful. We strap "obedience" onto faithfulness as if we are only faithful if we succeed in "doing" it all perfectly. But if we believe that successful obedience is what makes us faithful, then we must also believe that disobedience makes us unfaithful. And if we believe that this is the kind of faithfulness that pleases God, then we live in constant fear that if we blow it, we are "unfaithful" and God is gonna boot us. (Or at the very least, He is angry or disappointed in us.)
Maybe we have a wrong definition, or mindset about what it means to be faithful.

So...what is the definition of "faithful"?

faithful: loyal, devoted, steadfast in affection or allegiance.

Nowhere do I find the word "perfect". Our devotion is to some One, not some "thing". We are not devoted to a standard or law, but devoted to the One who loves us. Faith is dedication to a Person.
When faithfulness becomes "earning God's approval by our obedience and perfection" it can dangerously skew the way we see the Kingdom. It can be a door for disappointment to enter...disappointment with ourselves and others. If success is how we define faith, then the opposite of faith would be failure. But that isn't true!! True faith is the assurance of things hoped for! We're never gonna "arrive"! We're always gonna blow it! So to be faithful is to accept our failures with the assurance that God loves us anyway. He is teaching us and perfecting us in love. To continue to trust Jesus, the very author of faith, is to be assured that we can't fail! We will remain faithful because HE is faithful!!!

What is your picture of faithfulness (perfection)? Is it the family who attends church every Sunday and whose children are well behaved? Or maybe it's someone who doesn't cuss, or prays an hour every day, or never blows it in anger. There are so many standards...so many things by which we judge the "faithful". By these standards, we are saying that God accepts us because we are good. And that is completely anti-Gospel! We cannot "muster up" our own goodness in order to prove ourselves faithful! But...to believe God hears us and never turns from us...and to continue to turn to Jesus trusting that we are always welcomed by Him...requires great faith...the faith that pleases God.

This morning, God changed my thinking and challenged my standard. He showed me a different standard of faithfulness. The drunkard who fell off the wagon yet again, and staggers home to fall into bed...singing "Jesus loves me, this I know..." through his tears...is faithful. The mother who sells her body because it is the only way she knows to feed her child...all the while praying "Oh God, help this to be over quickly"...is faithful.

And just like them, I am faithful! Not because I am successful in my own perceived perfection. I am faithful because I am devoted to Jesus. I am faithful because when I do blow it, I immediately turn to Him. I am faithful because I trust in His goodness and His unwavering love for me, no matter how far I fall!  
Because I trust Him with my failures...I am faithful. Are you?