3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck,     write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name      in the sight of God and man.5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart     and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him,     and he will make your paths straight.7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;     fear the Lord and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body     and nourishment to your bones.9 Honor the Lord with your wealth,     with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,     and your vats will brim over with new wine.ReflectionsWritten by Gus CameronI doubt anyone would deny the value of love and faithfulness (verses 3-4) and how important they are to our relationships with each other and with God – except, perhaps, the most stubborn atheist. But then how sad it is that these wonderful qualities are so quickly forgotten. Love, which is all about putting someone else before myself, is so often replaced with selfishness: “I want”, “I need”, “my rights”. And instead of faithfulness, which is the commitment to do what I promised, we see people freely changing their mind without a care for the consequence or hurt caused to others.What is it that leads us away from love and faithfulness? Usually there’s some kind of fear of missing out on something else that’s come along, or the fear of having to work through a difficulty or challenge. And yet when we are faced with a situation where we must decide whether or not to continue in love and faithfulness, we are remined that we should trust God and live his way because he really does know best, and he promises to look after those who listen to him (verses 5-10).Of course, in Christ Jesus’ death we see both the depth of God’s love for us and his unending faithfulness in keeping his promises. Living each day in love and faithfulness might be hard and costly at times, but never forget God’s promise to look after us now, and the even greater promise of our eternal home with him.About the AuthorGus is an Assistant Minister with our Fairfield congregations and is thankful for the longer evenings and warmer weather of spring.