Faithfulness demands consistency, a determination to stay the course and see the task to its completion. Cal Ripken, an American baseball player for the Baltimore Orioles, is a sports hero and a legend to many simply because he always showed up for the game and gave his best. He didn’t miss one game in 16 years of playing baseball! That’s a total of 2,632 consecutive games. Even when sick or hurt, he continued to play. In 1983 he hurt his hand sliding on artificial turf and was unable to grip his bat; he somehow gritted his teeth- and got five hits that night, two of them home runs!
God loves faithfulness. That is why we can always expect God to give us what he promises. In turn, God expects us to be faithful to him and to one another. How can we grow in faithfulness? God’s grace shows us the way. When we are faithful in the little tasks and promises we make, we learn to be faithful in the bigger and more important responsibilities and tasks entrusted to us. Our reward is the Lord Jesus himself who shares with us his joy and friendship: “Well done good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Master”. (Mt 25:21)(Adapted from Don Schwager)
