Hebrews 13:4

Give honour to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.

Faithfulness is crucial to every relationship. Without it, relationships suffer from insecurity and uncertainty and cannot possibly thrive. Faithfulness is also at the heart of God’s relationship with us. There is no moment when you need to wonder whether he loves you or will stay by your side. The Bible is full of amazing reminders of the faithfulness of God. It never suggests that life will necessarily be free from challenges and difficulties, but continually affirms that God will be with us whatever happens. I love the way in which Isaiah celebrated God’s faithfulness: “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour” (Isaiah 43:1-3).

In today’s verses the writer focuses on marriage because faithfulness within that relationship is not only crucial for the two who are married, but also for a whole network of relationships, including children. As we worship God and get to know him better his desire is that we should reflect his faithfulness in all our relationships. We often fail to be faithful; we get distracted, we forget or we are tempted to be faithless. Mercifully, God is able to forgive us when we are faithless, but because he loves us he is always encouraging us to follow him on the exciting and life-giving path of faithfulness.

Question

In whose life have you seen a great example of faithfulness?

Prayer

Lord God, I worship you because you have been so faithful to me throughout my life. Teach me how to be faithful to the people in my life. Amen