READ: Revelation 2:8-10
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:3-4
Do not think it strange that I am writing about faithfulness unto death in the ministry. When Jesus walked the earth, He taught us the value of having a second family. He said His family are those who obey the Word of God. He showed us that those who obey the Word of God were His brothers, sisters, and mothers. In other words, Jesus made these people His family. “Be thou faithful unto death” is how to be a family.
Some people criticize churches that have loyal and faithful members. They do not understand how the church has become a family. In other words, they do not understand why the followers of the church are faithful unto death. They say things like, “This church is a cult. No one can leave that church.” The truth is that no one leaves a family. It is difficult to leave your family, and it is difficult to leave a church that has become a family. When the leadership builds the church as a family, it is truly difficult to leave.
Faithfulness unto death is a natural occurrence for families. No one leaves a family until they die. No one leaves a church until they die, when the church is like a family. Faithfulness unto death is loyalty and faithfulness to the very end of your life.
In Revelation 2:10, there is a clear message from the Lord – be faithful unto death and you will get a crown of life! Although it was a message to the church in Smyrna, it is a message to all; be faithful unto death! Many people are able to stay faithful only for a period of time. The crown of life is a promise and a reward for those who are able to be faithful to death.