The game of football is a team sport. There is a head coach who trains and teaches the players how to perform to be their best. Then there are individual athletes who make up the team. Each player performs unique responsibilities to help the team’s overall success. Each player has to take personal responsibility to show up to practice on time, to stay physically conditioned, and to properly execute the plays. Each athlete learns to develop faithfulness in these fundamental categories of the sport so that they can be counted on to perform when it’s game time.
If you were the coach, who would you call upon to start or substitute in each position? Would you ask the player who reliably gives his best at each practice, who shows up on time, who is physically conditioned, and who can properly execute the plays? Absolutely! Because you know they have been faithful to do the fundamentals, you know you can count on them to get in the game and successfully compete.
Similarly, on God’s team, He needs each of us to fulfill those unique positions He has placed us in. What attribute will help us to successfully compete in the spiritual competition? Faithfulness. Our faithfulness in the fundamentals is important to God. It helps us become reliable players on God’s team—players He can count on.
Psalms 31:23:
O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful….
The Apostle Paul noted the characteristics of faithfulness in those he relied on to visit the churches in his stead. They could be relied on to carry out God’s will in their service.
I Corinthians 4:17:
For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.
Ephesians 6:21:
But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things.
Colossians 4:7-9:
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:
Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts;
With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.
One area of faithfulness that I built and developed in my daily life as a Way Disciple was to read and study the Word every morning before heading out for the day. The night before, I would plan and consider what I would read in the morning. In addition to reading the Bible, I utilized ministry resources such as The Way Magazine and the Give and Share booklets. These resources covered specific topics I could incorporate into my life that very same day! The growth was undeniable, and I found myself better prepared to handle what God needed me to do to move His Word. I was becoming a reliable player on God’s team, ready to jump in the game to serve! Our faithfulness in the fundamentals is important to God, and it helps us become reliable players on His team.
We have seen how our faithfulness in the fundamentals is important to God. It shows Him we can be counted on to do what He asks us to. We are on God’s team, and He needs players that He can rely on. Like Timothy, Tychicus, and Onesimus, we can build faithfulness in studying and applying God’s Word so that we can jump in the game and serve! To be seen in the eyes of God as faithful, reliable, and one who can be counted on is a wonderful goal we all can strive for as we compete in life. As we continue to develop faithfulness in the fundamental categories of life, such as studying and applying God’s Word, we are reaching toward that goal of becoming reliable players on God’s team!