Faithfulness is the one ongoing quality God asks of us. He is willing to justify us; he is willing to grant us mercy instead of the condemnation we deserve, but he does ask for a life of faithfulness.
Faithfulness is in contrast to perfection. Being faithful is a far cry from being perfect. Faithfulness means being authentic, devoted, consistent, loyal. An alcoholic who regularly shows up at A.A. meetings is faithful. She may slip and fall, but she is faithful to get up again. She may lie to her supervisor, but she is faithful to tell the truth when confronted. Faithfulness allows for failure; perfection does not.
When God calls for perfection, it is assumed that I cannot perform it. It’s the demand for perfection that keeps me relying on God’s mercy and grace. But the call to faithfulness is a call I can answer. Faithful to follow, faithful to confess, faithful to obey, faithful to repent, faithful to believe, faithful to pray and seek God—all these are the requirements of faithfulness. All of them are doable and are, in fact, my responsibility and my joy, having been the unexpected recipient of so great a mercy.
The Pharisees could have had it all if they would have been willing to admit their hypocrisy and join the rest of the human race on their knees before a merciful Lord. “God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” cried the publican in the parable of Jesus (Luke 18:13). Imagine if you will, a Pharisee in his long robe, his phylacteries, and his ornate turban, down on his knees next to the tax collector in tears of repentance and joy. Imagine these two embracing, both overwhelmed at the mercy of God in hearing and answering the same prayer. There you have a true picture of the kingdom of God. It’s hard to imagine the Pharisee standing up after such an experience and judging anyone.
John Fischer The Catch 
John, you’re up late. 🙂
My two favorite characters in the Bible, other than Christ, are not Moses and David; they’re the publican who cried, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” and the thief on the cross who repented. I love those guys, and I love Christ’s response to the thief.
“It’s hard to imagine the Pharisee standing up after such an experience and judging anyone.” I love that.
Just as a side note: the Pharisees were the conservatives of their day; the Sadducees were the liberals. Many Pharisees came to Christ and some of them are named in Scripture, besides just Nicodemus and the Apostle Paul. Not one Sadducee is named or even mentioned as coming to Christ. I’m guessing the only Sadducee any of us have ever even heard of is Ben-Hur, and he was fictional.
My point is, God can save even a Pharisee. No one is outside the reach of God’s grace.
John, We were just discussing this last night in our small group Bible Study. This is what just happened to one of our members: http://knox.villagesoup.com/member/story/one-of-our-own/431733 This whole story is amazing and shows so well how God works. The Captain of the rescue ship is also a Christian.
Great post. I am reminded of the alternate translation of the word “perfection”, and that is “to be complete”. Being complete to me means being at one with God. Paul in his letter to the Hebrews in Chapter 6 lays out the steps to completeness. The term, perfection, is an unattainable goal for us in this life, but to find God, through the expample and life of Jesus, is to be complete. This we can attain, then we can apply the principles that Jesus taught. Be complete!!!
I know I am behind on the columns….but for Monday’s column It made me think of the song by Casting Crowns…Stained Glass Masquerade. It is a powerful statement on the church.
Great Catch!
And I have a big prayer request for you all. I need a place to live. Unfortunately, my income has been way below my needs for the past couple of years, so I have no budget for housing. I am self-employed serving primarily other small businesses, and have been doing a lot of work for free, or at seriously reduced rates. I have always wanted to be faithful, but I feel like I’ve been hanging by the last thread and its about to break.
Tim, Will do. Can you share with us exactly what you do and where you live?
I do computer, network, server support for small businesses, home based businesses (and occasionally residential.) I live in the area to the west of Portland, OR.
Thanks!