Thought for the Day, Proverbs 20:6

"Many a man claims to have unfailing love,
but a faithful man who can find?"
Proverbs 20:6

You can see this everywhere one turns. Look at today society with tag-lines, pickup lines, quick gratification, and on-the-spot pleasure. Men will change their words and their actions for you, to fill your ears with what you want to hear. "I love you forever and ever." Yet how often do those loves last?" I'd walk through the wilderness for you. I'd climb the highest mountain for you." Yet, when push comes to shove, how many men will actually go to those lengths for you? We forget that there has already been a man who went into the wilderness for 40 days and was tempted by the devil. He was also taken to a high mountain and tempted by the devil. He was Jesus Christ. When we want to find a man who is that faithful, all we need to do is turn to the Word and find Him.

So what is a faithful man? In a world of impetuousness, a world of compromise, of morals/ethics guided by popular decision, faith and the Word's interpretation watered down and "progressive" is a faithful man still possible to find? First I should tell you what I think when I see the word faithful. I see it three ones. In one of those ways, I can sum it up in one word: enduring. Through the threat of persecution, during times of strife and tribulation, under pain of death and injury, financial loss and loss of worldly stature, the faithful will not stray, or bend. They will remain...faithful, enduring. They are faithful, because you know they will be there, and you look to them, and, "Oh My!!!" they are still there. They are faithful.

To me, faithful also means obedient. There are volumes of laws, volumes of teachings and volumes of commandments. For me, to be a good Christian, it comes down to four things: Loving the Lord, my God, with all my heart, my soul and my mind (Matthew 22:37); Love my neighbor as I loved myself (Matthew 22:39); Praising the Lord continuously (Hebrews 13:15); and to pray to fulfill God's will for us (I Corinthians 2:7). If I obey these commandments then I not only will I have faith in my heart, but I will be a witness for others through my words and my actions. To me, my obedience and my faith hinge on these four things. How can I have faith if I continue to pursue my own selfish ends? How can I love my brother as myself, without loving the Lord with everything I have? What good would my tithes be if I turn a blind eye to a man who yearns from the bread of life and I have not witnessed to him of the Lord (Matthew 4:4).

Faith to me is also a combination of works on behalf of my beliefs, and believing in something that I cannot prove, touch, taste, or feel. The Book of James tells us that faith with works is dead, being alone (James 2:17 (KJV)). The Book Ephesians tells us that it is grace through faith that saves us, called a gift from God (Ephesians 2:7-8 (KJV)).

Being a faithful man is not simply going to church and praying and reading the bible, or simply believing that I am saved by His grace. It is through my actions that I carry out in faith, through my faith in God's divinity, through faith in God's grace, through my works of faith that I can be called faithful. This is not simply a once a week, or once a day mission for me. By the way, to me any work for God that do is a mission, something that is more important than myself, whether it be an anonymous act of kindness, a medical mission, or praying as spiritual leader in a relationship; they are all missions.

I must give my praise to God. God wants our praise, our attention, our thanksgiving. He gives us gifts and blessings and he desires to be praised for them. The blessings and gifts, His will for us, all of it comes from Heaven. These things were written before we were even born. So if this is the case, I must pray for the wisdom to recognize His will for me. I must also listen quietly in order to listen for his answers. This is intimate. To me, this is the epitome of spiritual intimacy. To open my heart and my soul and my life to God, and to accept whatever He fills me with. To me, this is the most intimate act I can ever undertake.

My faith is shown through how I walk with God and with my fellow man. God wishes us to imitate him (Ephesians 5:1 (KJV)). By doing this, we must look at God's grandeur and splendor and not close our eyes to the wholeness of God. God is not only kind. He is also a warrior. He is also strong. Gog does not delight in evil. God hates wrongdoing and sin. God does not turn a blind eye to evil. We were created in His image. We are to imitate Him. He is strong. We should be strong. God is love...He is love...He does not just act in love, show love, or speak of love...He is love. Love is not always kind. Love sometimes can be tough. Love sometimes perseveres.

Yes...love. I Corinthians 13 speaks of love being the greatest of "faith, hope and love". Without love there cannot be any faith. Without love there cannot be hope. This is the basis for my Faith, my Christianity, my relationship with God and with others. Think about it. If we did not love God, what reason would be have to be faithful? Anything less than a faith of love would be hollow, something that God would see through.

Through an intimate relationship with God, He will show me His will for me. With faith I will follow it. Even if I do not see where the road leads me, it is faith that will guide me. That is what makes a faithful man. It is not belief alone that makes faith. It is not simply action that makes faith. They go hand in hand.

I do not know if I am a faithful man. The woman in my life will know if I am a man after God's own heart. On the day of judgment, God will tell me if I have been a faithful man. But I believe that I am. That is part of my faith. All I can do now is quietly listen to his words he speaks to my heart and step forth with faith, hope, love and trepidation on this perilous journey through life and know that He is faithful to me, as I am to Him.