Own It!

You don't own it until you experience it!

Owning Faithfulness

I have always liked the word “loyalty.” It sometimes gets a bad reputation because loyalty to a person may override faithfulness to one’s principles. Of course, when it comes to loyalty to God we don’t have to worry about a conflict with valid principles. I am reminded of the words of Polycarp in AD 155 who said as he was threatened to be burned at the stake for following Jesus, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?" He was faithful till death. John recorded Jesus’ words to the church at Smyrna, the same church where Polycarp was an elder, saying, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” When the letter to the church was received in the late 90’s AD, Polycarp’s parents would have likely heard it read. A few short years later Polycarp was born. Surely his parents often repeated this admonition to him as he grew into manhood. He carried it with him to the stake.

Polycarp owned faithfulness. He understood the commitment he made to Jesus. Peter promised Jesus that he would die with Him and then denied Him. Peter owned it and then lost it. Fortunately, Peter got it back and was crucified upside down in Rome some 30 plus years later. What if more married couples understood faithfulness? What if more parents understood faithfulness? What if more brothers and sisters in Christ understood faithfulness to their church family? What if more citizens understood faithfulness to their country? What if more people understood more faithfulness to their friends? We need more Ruths in this world. We need more Barnabas’ in this world. We need more Jonathan’s in this world. The military has a phrase they say: “All in, all out.” It is a statement of faithfulness. Cutting and running it not Jesus’ way. Sticking with others-family, friends, churches- through thick and thin is to be highly valued. Faithfulness is gold. You will know it when you experience it. YOU DON’T OWN IT UNTIL YOU EXPERIENCE IT.