Faithless

"...if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

2 Timothy 2:13

Timothy is my favorite Bible character. He's not a Paul, David or Moses, but there's something very refreshing about his consistency, quiet support and "underdog" type personality.

I never noticed 2 Timothy 2:13 till recently, when my heart could no longer find any certainty in its faithfulness. Maybe that's one of the key purposes of God's word - bringing us to a deep, unarguable conviction that God is true / we are liars. Our hearts are deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9); our righteousness as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6); our flesh - constant "idol factories" dedicated to our own glory. Were WE the full story or the basis for goodness, salvation would always be a doubt.

But "thanks be to God" (Romans 6:17) - we were saved by faith alone, by grace alone.

This has been a hard lesson for me to learn. Everything in me screams for certainty; for proof that I am not as bad as I think, that I deserve to be loved, that I, that I, that I... Why else would the cross be foolishness and a stumbling block to those who do not believe?

The cross humbles us. Our condition is worse than we could ever imagine. For me, this half of the truth is not hard to comprehend. Our status as sinners is empirically, the easiest proven fact. If we just focus on this half of the truth however, we are left with shame, guilt and an insurmountable task of paying our limitless penance.

Truth. Through the cross, we are reconciled to God (Romans 5:10). By faith, we are spared from proving, from losing, from deserving, from earning, from, from... By faith. "...if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

I do not think that Paul means - if we do not have faith, but rather - during the times our faith wanes and falters we do not need to be disheartened. We are reminded that our hope is Christ alone - even when we are faithless. What is our hope for salvation, for life, for freedom? It is the very fact that God cannot disown himself.

What Christ did on the cross removes the need for us to earn; for us to be perfect; for us to prove our worth or righteousness. Take ME out of the picture. I moved away from righteousness, but HE sought me. I pray that this truth finds its home in my heart.