As I was considering words the other day, I discovered a question which I deemed worth asking. I haven't decided how I would answer it yet, but I thought I'd throw it out to any who would like to think about it as well.
Q: What is the relationship between "faith" and "faithfulness" (or "being faithful")? "Faith," you see, is the root of "faithful". So how are they related? I'm pondering...
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I would say that they are two words connected and inseperable. Can you have faith without faithfulness? Example, Satan believes and knows that Jesus is the Christ, God, God's Son the Messiah. Satan knows God's word and has seen God, the angels, and heaven. Yet his actions are the complete opposite, the anti-christ. So while satan possess knowledge he does not have faith or faithfulness. I wonder how many people today have knowledge, attend church, read their bibles but have no faith? Another reason these two words are connected and inseperable relates to who God is. As we are His children our faith will be weak from time to time but His faithfulness to us will never weaken, falter, or fail.
Hmmm . . . faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. In Spanish, Hebrews 11:1 says, "La fe es la garantia de lo que se espera, la certaza de lo que no se ve."--the guarantee of what we hope for, the certainty of what we cannot see--and without faith it is impossible to please God. And James tells us to show our faith by our works, so . . . faithfulness is evidence of our faith, isn't it? I think of a child, because children have such amazing faith. When a child has faith in someone, they are completely taken by that person. They want all of his attention, and they give him all of their attention. They hang on every word he speaks, and they do whatever he tells them to do. Their faith is evidenced by their faithfulness.
The really inspiring thought for me, though, is that the God in Whom we have faith is faithful to us. My favorite hymn is "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."
Compared to Him I am less than a cockroach is compared to me, and yet His faithfulness to me, and you, is so great that He would make the Ultimate Sacrifice to redeem me, us. Oh how He loves us! I will endeavor to show my faith in more faithfulness from this time forth.
Thanks for the question, Daniel.
Thanks B.J. for your insight, too. God bless you.
Oops! I made a typo. In the Spanish, I typed certaza. I meant certeza. I also don't know how to put in the accent marks, so . . . look up Hebrews 11:1 in you Spanish Bible, and you can see the verse the way it is meant to be written. :)
I find that faith tends to be the offspring of faithfulness. Example: A child, in most circumstances, doesn't question whether his parents will provide for him. They always have before so they always will. It's just that simple.
In a similar way, as we see God's faithfulness in our lives, our faith grows. At least that has been my experience.
It appears from a quick glance through my concordance that faith refers to a concept that goes from man to God (low to high). However, faithfulness goes both ways: man to God and God to man. I could be wrong!
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