The Fruits of Faithfulness

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3: 3

Faithfulness is the proof of love. Faithfulness is love that hangs on to the end; it’s love that won’t quit. Faithfulness proves itself time and time again. Faithfulness is seen in a life that is consistent and dependable.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to persevere and be faithful regardless of our circumstances. We have a duty, even an obligation (both unpopular words in our contemporary setting), to be faithful to the end. 

How are our practices as a school community exhibiting faithfulness? To God, to the call on our lives to follow Him? How does our collective and individual faithfulness serve the pastoral, academic and educational needs of all the students?

Are we being faithful to providing a Christian education that is faithful to a biblical worldview? How is our parent-school partnership being expressed? Are we equally yoked in this? Or are there things we could be doing that better express faithfulness to each other? 

In all things we do as a school, we should remember that God is faithful - Psalm 100:5 says:

The Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Jesus is described as faithful. In Hebrews 3:1-2 we read:

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. He was faithful to the One who appointed Him.

As believers, we know - our salvation is assured because of it - that Jesus was faithful because He fulfilled what He was called to do - to die for our sins - and He continues to be faithful to His call to pray and intercede for us.

The scriptures are full of examples and exhortations encouraging and challenging us to be faithful:

• Romans 12:12 says we are to be faithful in prayer.
• 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 challenges us to be faithful in stewardship.
• Ephesians 6:21 talks about being faithful in service.
• Colossians 1:7 speaks of being faithful in ministry.
• 3 John 3 says we are to be faithful in the truth.
• Revelation 13:10 speaks of faithfulness even in times of persecution.
• Revelation 2:15 speaks of being faithful in witnessing.

Faithfulness is an expression of our love for God, our thankfulness for Jesus’ work on our behalf, and our love for one another. It is part of the cluster of fruits of the Spirit - the others being love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control - which demonstrate our follower-ship to those around us.

As a community, these fruits should be our hallmarks - as we gather for school each day, in the car park, in the yard, in the classrooms, in offices, in lessons, at play, during activities, even as we reflect on the events of the day.

We all contribute to this. We should act in grace as we call one another back to faithfulness. We should quickly act to forgive, knowing we need forgiveness ourselves. And we ultimately seek to glorify God as a community of believers, making it attractive to those who look in from the outside.

As a community, let’s bless one another consistently with faithful activity together.

Shalom