Faithfulness without love is hardly possible. District Apostle Peter Schulte (Australia) has taken a glimpse into the Bible and penned down his thoughts on the Chief Apostle’s 2018 motto.
Looking back on our 2017 motto of “Glory be to God, our Father” to be a song of praise within us, we had to grasp the fundamental understanding of God the creator. In 2018, the motto “Faithful to Christ” also needs to begin with the fundamental understanding that Christ is faithful to us.
To be faithful means to be loyal, true to one’s word, promises, and vows in life. We can sometimes show these characteristics because we feel this is the expected standard or even because we are fearful of the negative consequences, but true faithfulness is driven by love.
In the letter to the church in Ephesus it says, “I know your works, your labour … and you have persevered and have patience.” These are characteristics of faithfulness, yet the concern was that they had left their first love. They were only going through the motions of faithfulness. It was not really alive within them.
Christ is faithful to us because He loves us. He showed this faithfulness by inviting mankind with their mistakes and failings to come close to Him, His perseverance against the evil one, and giving His life on the cross for our redemption.
It is now our opportunity to show our faithfulness to Christ through our belief in His teaching, our willingness to follow Him, our desire to serve Him, bringing our offering out of thankfulness, our confidence to profess His name, and our longing for our Saviour’s return.
Photo: Oliver Rütten