When I was the chaplain at Wesley College, I had the opportunity to teach an elective class called Marriage and Families. The class was partly made up of students who were sociology or psychology majors, and this was an elective in their pathway. The other half of the class were students who wanted to figure out whether getting married was worth it (I heard many stories of how their parents had ruined their idea of marriage). The class was a lot of fun to lead and presented the opportunity to present what marriage and faithfulness can look like. 

At the end of one of the semesters, I invited a couple from my church to speak to the class. They had been married for 65 years and were people of faith. The class was in awe that there was a couple locally married that long, as many of them had no one in their lives with a long-term marriage. The couple shared and answered questions. There was a lot of fun that day, and I think the students appreciated the opportunity to hear and learn from this couple.

One of the obvious questions that was asked was “What does it take to have a successful marriage?” What the couple’s answer boiled down to was this: Faithfulness. The faithfulness to wake up each morning and to choose the other person. The faithfulness not to hurt the other with words. The faithfulness to forgive. The faithfulness to be present. In a world where relationships are seen as expendable, faithfulness for sixty-five years is radical.

It should come as no surprise that our relationship with Christ is often described in wedding or marriage imagery. It is covenant language that says we will be faithful to God because God is faithful. It is imagery that reminds us that each day, each moment, we have the opportunity to choose Christ. We have the choice to be faithful to Jesus. Because God is faithful, we are called to exhibit faithfulness in our relationships with our spouses, our families, and our friends. As followers of Christ, we should be able to count on one another when needed. Christopher J. H. Wright writes, 

“Faithfulness means you know what you really believe, whom you really love, and what you are ultimately committed to. Faithfulness means being sure of what you want to live for and what you’re willing to die for. Faithfulness is what author Eugene Peterson called “a long obedience in the same direction.”

As we continue to invite the Holy Spirit to cultivate fruit in our lives, may we be found faithful to the people God places in our lives; faithful to the things we find most important; faithful to Christ, who is our firm foundation. As we gather for worship this week, may we seek to be faithful in all we do because we serve a faithful God!

P.S.- The picture is of my parents on their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2024, who have exemplified faithfulness to me!