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When I think of a faithful follower of Jesus, I think of my Grandma Klemm. My grandma was raised in the church her whole life. Her parents were LCMS teachers, and she married an LCMS educator. She was committed to going to church, reading the scriptures, and being in Christian community with other believers. Most importantly, she understood the importance of passing her faith down to her children, and her grandchildren. My grandma had experienced God’s faithfulness and trusted in his promises. She knew the impact that a relationship with Jesus had on her life and she wanted the same thing for her family and the generations to come.
When Moses and the Israelites are in the desert after fleeing Egypt, God renews the covenant he first made with Abraham. He tells Moses who he is as the God of the Israelites and what this means for the people. Exodus 34:6-7 says: “The Lord passed before (Moses) and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.” The covenant that God made with the Israelites was not just for those who were in the wilderness. It was to be the same for generations to come. That’s what we see throughout the entire Old Testament – God’s covenant with his people from generations to generations. And now, we as Christians get to look back on those people of faith in the Scriptures as an example of how we are to live our lives as faithful followers of Jesus.
God remains faithful to all of his promises. He is God who is gracious, merciful, and loving to his people. He accomplishes the things that he says he will. Because we know and trust that God is faithful to his promises and his people, we have a hope that does not end. Our hope is in Jesus – the Word made flesh to save us from our sins. This hope that we have guides and keeps us firm. The writer of the book of Hebrews says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)).
My grandma loved to sing the songs of our Lutheran faith. They teach us and remind us of the great truths of scripture. One of our favorites to sing was “Great is Thy Faithfulness” (LSB 809). May the words of this hymn be your prayer of thanksgiving to the one who is always faithful to his people:
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be…
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
Discussion Questions
- Who is someone in your life who is a faithful follower of Jesus? How do they remind you of God’s faithfulness?
- What is the hope we profess? What is one way that you can share that with someone this week?
Prayer
Faithful God, we praise you for who you are and the things that you do. Thank you for being a God who is faithful to his promises and faithful to his people. Throughout our days, remind us of the ways you have been faithful to your people, and open our eyes to see your work in our lives. Through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.