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Faithfulness
Faithfulness
When Pompeii was destroyed
by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius
there were many people buried in the ruins.
Some were found in cellars
as if they had gone there for security. Some were
found in the upper rooms of buildings. But where was the Roman sentinel found?
Standing at the city gate where he had been placed by the captain
with his
hands still grasping his weapon. There
while the earth shook beneath
him—there
while the floods of ashes and cinders covered him—he had stood at
his post. And there
after a thousand years
was this faithful man still to be
found. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Faithful
Faithful progress in the
Christian life is a necessity. We should get “better” as time goes on. This is
illustrated by what many consider to be the greatest horse race ever run. When
Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby
each successive quarter-mile in the race
was run faster than the one before. The longer the race went
the faster the
horse ran. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Faithful
Do you apply the same
standards of faithfulness to your Christian activities that you expect from
other areas of your life?
If your car starts once
every three tries
is it reliable?
If your paperboy skips
delivery every Monday and Thursday
is he trustworthy?
If you don’t go to work
once or twice a month
are you a loyal employee?
If you refrigerator stops
working for a day or two every now and then
do you say
“Oh
well
it works
most of the time”?
If your water heater
provides an icy-cold shower every now and then
is it dependable?
If you miss a couple of
loan payments every year
does the bank say
“Ten out of twelve isn’t bad”?
If you fail to worship God
one or two Sundays a month
would you expect to be called a faithful Christian?
We expect faithfulness and
reliability from things and other people. Does not God expect the same from us?
The problem is that in our religious activities we see ourselves as volunteers
rather than as duty bound (1 Cor.9). For a volunteer
almost anything seems
acceptable. For a bondservant who is duty bound
faithfulness is expected
(Matt. 25:21). ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Benefit of Faithfulness
A Persian legend tells us
that a certain king needed a faithful servant and had to choose between two
candidates for the office. He took both at fixed wages and told them to fill a
basket with water from a nearby well
saying that he would come in the evening
to inspect their work. After dumping one or two buckets of water into the
basket
one of the men said
“What is the good of doing this useless work? As
soon as we pour the water in
it runs out the sides.”
The other answered
“But we
have our wages
haven’t we? The use is the master’s business
not ours.”
“I’m not going to do such
fool’s work
” replied the complainer. Throwing down his bucket
he went away.
The other man continued
until he had drained the well. Looking down into it
he saw something shining
at the bottom that proved to be a diamond ring. “Now I see the use of pouring
water into the basket!” he exclaimed. “If the bucket had brought up the ring
before the well was dry
it would have been found in the basket. Our work was
not useless.”
When God’s blessing does
not fully coincide with your expectations
remember to wait until the well is
dry. There may be something precious at the bottom. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》