A lone warrior stood in a field of lentils and readied himself to fight as an army of soldiers rushed toward him. This was no ordinary field of lentils, and this was no ordinary warrior. His name was Shammah, and the lentils belonged to his commander and king, David. The king had commanded his army to defend the land against the Philistine nation. But when they saw the Philistines coming they were afraid and fled. Why did Shammah remain all by himself to defend some beans on the side of a hill? Faithfulness. To the average person the field of lentils didn’t hold much value. But to Shammah, much more than lentils were at stake. For him to flee, which would have been by far the easiest route, would mean his loyalty to the one he served would be broken. And that was worth more than all the lentils in the world. Amazingly, (not so if you know the Lord who holds the universe in His hands) Shammah defeated the entire troop of Philistines.
Faithfulness is a subject that gets much attention in Scripture. This is likely because its roots are buried deep into the relationship that Christians have with the Lord Jesus. We have been purchased by the precious blood of Christ and it is to Him alone we owe our allegiance. The Lord gives us the key to faithfulness in Matthew 24:44-47: ““Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.” The faithful servant will be doing what the master has asked. In contrast, the unfaithful will say to himself, “My master is delaying his coming.” He will despise his authority and live for the pleasures of self.
Faithfulness is highly practical. It comes down to choices. Our Master and Lord has asked many things of our lives. We make the choice daily to follow His command and honor His wishes or to disobey and go our own way. Self is the greatest barrier to faithfulness. Paul, writing to young Timothy, says, ““Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Tim. 2:3-4). This is the greatest motivator to faithful living—a love for the Master. A person will do anything and go to any length for the person whom they love. They evidence that love in the tangible, practical things of life.
The Lord is certainly an example of this. His task was the greatest of all—He died for the sins of the whole world. His suffering was to surpass any that had lived. His ridicule was to reduce Him to the lowest of humanity. Yet we see shining beyond the horror of Calvary a faithfulness that would take Him into the grave and on to glory at the Father’s right hand. The soldiers came to arrest Him and take Him away. Peter, seeking to defend his Lord, cut off a servant’s ear. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” Nothing could be more practical than that. Such faithfulness!
But faithfulness is more than just performing a list of commands set out by our Lord. It is going beyond that into a relationship that pleases the heart of God. It is thinking, speaking and acting out a Christ-like character that reflects His glory in every moment. It involves loving the loveless because He loves the loveless. It means caring for the weary because He cares for the weary. It is forgiving those who wrong us because He in His spotless holiness forgave us in our wicked sinful state. That is the heartbeat of faithfulness. It is only when we absorb the character of God’s matchless life and make it our own that we will begin to live a life of faithfulness. It is only when all that we think is consumed by thoughts of His glory that we will truly stand the tests of our faith.
Why should we commit all that we are and have to this Master? Why should we lay aside the pleasure of this world and follow a Lord whom we cannot see or touch or speak to face to face? Because He is worth it! Some masters cause their servants to despise them and long for freedom. Our Lord, in contrast, is a Master who knows all about the trials and struggles of life. He has been there and has seen the worst that life could throw at Him and has risen triumphant to give us that same victory. Faithfulness is marked by a life of loving service to a loving Master. He stretches out His hands to us, not to strike us into submission but to love us into a relationship that transforms our lives into service for Him. Paul says it best in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, nkjv, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” The poet has written, “How can I help but love Him when He loved me so?” Paul tells us that to sacrifice our all on the altar is the logical thing to do in light of His mercy to us.
This Christian pathway is a journey of mountains and valleys, tests and trials, failures and triumphs. Yet through it all, the Lord is longing to see us plunge deeper and deeper into the ocean of His love. We will find in Him a faithful Master and Friend, One who will never leave us nor forsake us. Devoting our lives to Him, not because He commands us to, but because we can’t stop loving Him, will prove in us the faithfulness that He desires and requires. He is worth it!