That Kind of Faithful

How long does it take to be described as one who is faithful? You may as well ask "how long is a piece of rope?" Faithfulness is an adhering to or holding firmly to a duty; it's defined by consistent allegiance or loyalty to something. We must conclude, therefore, one does not wake-up one day as suddenly ... faithful. No, it is to be achieved and gained over a period of time, a perseverance to consistency of doing-and-doing, over-and-over. Yes, the quality of faithfulness comes with time. I propose Daniel as a Bible hero who remained faithful to his God ... unruffled by whims and demands of earthly authority. Even when men maliciously tried to cause him to stumble, Daniel gave a faithful response: instead of praying to the king [as decreed], Daniel continued to do as he always had done and prayed to his God three times a day (Daniel 6:13). Lack of perseverance and endurance is the greatest enemy to achieving "faithful" status; it demands boldness and courage but [spiritually speaking] it mostly requires a heart that is undivided between God and other things. Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37 ESV). Let's be clear: that's a special kind of love! Loving God in that produces results that are unwavering and unyielding, the faithfulness we see in Daniel's life - a faithfulness that made the pages of God's Word. Oh yeah, I want to be ... that kind of faithful.