As we accept Jesus Christ as Lord of our life, we are given the power to live life in His Spirit. Living in His Spirit allows us to develop godly traits. The Bible describes these traits as the Fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:22-23 we are told that the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This week's Fruit is faithfulness.

In this verse, the Greek word pistis is used for faithfulness. It has the feeling of moral conviction of the truth of God and holding consistently to this conviction.

The dictionary tells us that faithful means:

• Adhering firmly and devotedly to a person, cause, or idea
  
• Having faith or full of faith.
  
• Fidelity - strict observance of promises and duties. loyalty
  
• Worthy of trust or belief; reliable.
  
• Consistent with truth or actuality as a faithful reproduction of the portrait.

As I see it, being faithful as a Christian, means believing in what the Bible says and holding devotedly to the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. This seems easy. It is exactly what I profess. But the meaning of faithfulness is holding consistently to my conviction.

I think that exhibiting faithfulness means paying consistent attention to the details of life. Am I faithful to my Christian belief ALL the time? I have only to read more of Galatians chapter 5 to be challenged.

In reading the verses just before the famous Fruit of the Spirit, I have to take a deeper look at myself. Verse 5:16 says that if I live by the Spirit, I will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. In Galatians 5:19-21 there is a list of sinful acts. There are some big sins that I would never think of taking part in. - sexual immorality, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, drunkenness, orgies - I can feel good about myself because I don't have a problem with these. However, being faithful to all of God's word, I must look at all this verse has to say. There are more sinful acts listed.

Fits of rage - Do I occasionally lose my temper?

Discord - Lack of harmony or disagreement. Do I participate in and prolong disagreements?

Jealousy and envy - Have I been jealous or envious of anyone? - The friend who has such a nice home and only works part time when I have less and have to work so hard?

Selfish ambition - Do I sometimes want my own way at someone else's expense? A promotion? Being first?

As a Christian, we are to become more and more like Christ. This means paying attention to the details, so, I will pray for God's help in developing faithfulness to all of His teachings so that I might become a faithful reproduction of Christ.

Complete listing of the Fruit of the Spirit.



First of three book series.