Canvas Rhapsody

Have a little Faith in me.

I don't know if you need it but I do. I need to know someone believes in me. I need to know someone will stand by me. I need to know that wherever I go and whatever mistakes I make that someone has faith in me.

Believe I can do it when I don't believe I can.

Believe I am worth it when I don't see my value.

Believe I deserve love when I can't earn it.

Believe I can do right when all I do is wrong.

Believe I have strength when I only feel weak.

Believe I have courage when all I feel is fear.

Believe I am forgivable when I can't forgive.

Believe I am worth the sacrifice He made when I can't find the faith to believe I am.

On more than one occasion I have had conversations with people that were in the process of finding faith. Many have more in common than you may think. Most have the same insecurities. More than you realize don't believe they are worth the love God wants to give them. Too many are trying to make up for what they have done by attempting to earn their salvation.

Grace is a hard gift to grasp if you don't believe anyone should love you.

What does this all have to do with Faithfulness? As a believer in the Savior Jesus Christ, I know the sacrifice (John 3:16-17) that was made for me. I know my God is faithful (Psalm 100) and even when I am weak (Romans 7:14-25) He will pick me up. I have faith and in response to God's grace, I am faithful. Not just faithful to Him but to all of His creation.

Let me be honest here, I like your bumper stickers and your Jesus pins but how is your faith being lived out in your life. People need you, a follower of Christ, to step out and be faithful to all of humanity. No matter how much it may hurt. People need you to believe in them before they can believe in themselves or have faith in a God that they can't see. We all need someone to tell us we are worthy of the sacrifice before we believe it ourselves.

It wasn't that long ago that someone was faithful to me. Loved me, believed in me and took all the hurt I could throw at them. I disappointed and fell short of every expectation. I wasn't there when I should have been and I couldn't love back the way they deserved to be loved. Still, they believed in me. This was one of the first Christians I knew and they saved my life.

Be willing to give of yourself, faithfully, to someone that may reject you. In God's eyes they are just as worthy of His love as you are. This means stepping out of your boundaries, be vulnerable and be prepared for sacrifice.

Hard Shell (Family Challange)

Keeping with the whole fruit thing, this week pick out something with a hard shell on it to eat while discussing faithfulness. Maybe a coconut or pineapple. This will make a good example about how sometimes it is hard to keep our promises to people, but when we do we get to enjoy the fruit of our hard work.

Faithfulness starts with learning to keep our promises. Talk to your children about their promises. If they have siblings remind them that by being a brother or sister that they promise love and kindness to each other every day. If they have pets; talk about the responsibility they have to feed and care for their animal. Their pet relies on their faithfulness to survive. Talk about the importance of good friendship and being an honest and trustworthy person.

Don't forget to talk about the promises God keeps to us........

And remember that you are the example of Faithfulness to your children. Do you keep your promises? Do you believe in them when the rest of the world doesn't?