Faithfulness Is Love Put to the Test

Yael Eckstein  |  January 14, 2022

Many claim to have unfailing love,
    but a faithful person who can find? – Proverbs 20:6

We continue with devotional thoughts from the Book of Proverbs every Friday. One of the 11 books in the Torah known as the Ketuvim, Hebrew for “writings,” Proverbs is part of the “wisdom tradition,” which also includes Job and Ecclesiastes.

I was recently walking in Jerusalem and an older Jewish gentleman recognized me and stopped me in the street. He smiled widely and pointed a finger at me. “Your father, of blessed memory! Your father was a hero. He created Christian love of Israel!”

While I was honored by his words, I had to correct him. “Created Christian love of Israel?” I replied. “Thank you, but I think you’re mistaken. God created Christian love of Israel. My father just gave them a way to show it.”

“I know what you’re saying,” he replied. “But before your father, for most of them, their love was only words. Now it’s real!”

This encounter made me think. What is love when it isn’t expressed in action? Did this man have a point? Is love less “real” when it’s not accompanied by action to back it up?

Faithfulness Is Love Put to the Test

Christian love of Israel is a direct extension of their love of God and the Bible. They see the mass ingathering of millions of Jews from around the world to the reborn nation of Israel in our homeland and they understand that God’s promises in the Bible are coming true.

Yet, even with this widespread faith among Christians, there are still millions who do fit into the category this man was describing: Christians who say they love Israel, but don’t take any action to show that love. By founding The Fellowship, my father, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, provided the channel for the love that so many Christians felt in their hearts, to translate into active participation in what God is doing through the Jewish people.

In Proverbs the Bible teaches, “Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?” I think that this verse is saying the same thing as that man I met in Jerusalem. A “faithful person” is someone who can be relied on when the going gets tough. Faithfulness is love put to the test in time of need.

That’s what The Fellowship is all about — letting the nation of Israel know that our Christian friends are with us, and that they are faithful.

Your Turn:

Demonstrate your faithfulness to those around you by serving them in love.