THE SEND: Luke & ActsSample

Have you ever thought of what it means to be ‘faithful’?

As Christians, we often talk about the faithfulness of Jesus, but what do we actually mean when we say this? Jesus’ faithfulness means he’s consistent. He’s trustworthy. His words are true.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to walk in faithfulness to him, just as he walks in faithfulness to us. And in Acts 23-24, we see Paul live this out powerfully.

Paul is brought before religious and political leaders again and again—questioned, misunderstood, and unjustly imprisoned. Some want to kill him. Some want to catch him out. And some are just curious about what he believes. Each time, Paul responds to them with consistent and clear courage. He remains faithful to Jesus every single time.

There is something beautiful about the way Paul keeps saying yes to Jesus. Even after years of being wrongfully imprisoned and endlessly questioned, Paul does not ‘throw in the towel.’ He continues to stand firm in the faith he’s so boldly professed and trusts that Jesus will be faithful to him.

How often can we be tempted to ‘throw in the towel’? To stop sharing our faith with that friend who still hasn’t accepted our invitation to come to Church? To stop sharing the Good News of Jesus with people in our lives who have already heard? To stop sharing Jesus with strangers we meet on the streets because we got rejected a few times?

We might not be on trial like Paul, but we all know the pressure to give up.

Ask yourself: What does my faithfulness to Jesus look like, especially when things feel hard?

Ask the Holy Spirit: Give me strength to keep going. Help me remain consistent. Help me trust that Jesus is faithful—and that he’s not finished with my story yet.