By Rachel Anderson
“But the fruit of the Spirit is …. faithfulness.” (Galatians 5:22)
“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee.” Thomas O. Chisholm
Faithfulness is a word not often used in our day-to-day lives anymore. I don’t know about you, but it’s a fruit of the Spirit I tend to brush over without giving it much thought. It seems boring—and in many ways, it is. However, God works as much in the daily, the mundane, and the boring as He does in the supernatural.
Think about it: when your parents were changing your nappies or feeding you after you threw the bowl for the third time that day, it was their faithfulness—not miracles—that got you cleaned up, fed and off to bed. Looking after God’s children is no different.
As a leader at camp or Hello Life, children are going to come ask you for help with some pretty mundane tasks—tying their shoelace, getting a football, or listening with interest to that story that you may think is boring but means a lot to that kid.
It’s not just with the kids. You may be asked to clean a room, wash tables, or help your fellow leader with set-up. This is what faithfulness is. You may also be asked to do all the above when you’re tired, when some of the kids have been cheeky, and when your fellow leader may be getting on your nerves! Doing so not just without complaint, but—as the Bible says— “cheerfully giving” (2 Corinthians 9:7), is where heaven’s rewards are won.
It’s not fun. It’s certainly not glamorous. And very often, you’ll get no credit for unseen faithfulness. However, God sees it all (Matthew 6:4). Have you ever wondered what Jesus did in those thirty years prior to His public ministry? He did no miracles. He wasn’t in the public eye. But He laboured away quietly and faithfully, walking in obedience to His Father (Luke 2:51–52; Mark 6:3).
Faithfulness is also including the leader or child that seems a bit weird, and not mocking the guy you find boring, or not gossiping about the person who is driving you up the wall. These people are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and worthy of the same dignity as those who are easy to serve.
Jesus is our chief example. If the God of glory can wash His disciples’ feet (John 13:3–17), if the innocent King could take responsibility for our sin (1 Peter 2:22–24), and if the Messiah could spend thirty years as an obscure carpenter in a backwater such as Nazareth, how much more should we be motivated to do the mundane when this was not beneath His majesty?
This day, remember that Jesus isn’t just our chief example in mundane faithfulness—He is our chief evidence that it can be done under pressure, and that God is pleased and rewards quiet, boring and cheerful faithfulness.
