Semper Fidelis

“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

—1 Corinthians 1:9

The motto of the United States Marine Corps is Semper Fidelis, which is Latin for “Always Faithful.” For a Marine it means faithful to the mission, each other, the Corps, and to the country, no matter what happens. And it has been said, “It’s more than a motto, but a way of life.” Anyone who has ever met a Marine can tell you that it’s true. And even after a Marine is out of the Corps and returned to civilian life, the call still remains. That’s why it is said, “There is no such thing as an ex-Marine.” Though they are no longer in the Corps, they are, and forever will be, Marines.

While the Marines are certainly an honorable branch of the military, only one individual in the history of the universe has truly and forever been “Always Faithful” and that is God. And for God, it’s not a motto, or a way of life, but who He is.

God is faithful, which is to say, God is always true to Himself, His purposes, and His promises, and whatever He says He will do. His promises will come to pass. Whenever God makes a promise, He will be faithful to complete it. He cannot fail. His Word cannot be thwarted, even though wickedness appears to continue on unabated. Man invents new kinds of evil and does everything in his power to eradicate, remove, or redefine God and His presence among men, but it matters not, because God will bring to pass everything that He has purposed, planned, and promised.

Consider for a moment the promise of God to Eve that she would bear a Son who would crush the serpent who had deceived (a veiled image of Satan) by His death (see Genesis 3:15). This was a promise given by God that passed from generation to generation, was expanded and honed. More prophecies concerning God’s coming Messiah would be revealed. He would come from lineage of the patriarch Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) and then through Abraham’s son, Isaac (Genesis 17:19; 26:4). From Isaac it went to his son Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15) and then from Jacob it went through his fourth son, Judah (Genesis 49:10). After Judah it was revealed that God’s coming Messiah would be of the house and lineage of King David (2 Samuel 7:16). It was imperative that God’s coming Messiah came directly from this lineage, which is why Matthew 1:1-17 is so important. For us, who are Gentiles (non-Jews), we skip over it, seeing a bunch of names we cannot pronounce, but for the Jew of the ancient world it was vitally important to establish Christ’s credibility, showing that He did in fact descend from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and eventually David.

There were times, however, during the reigns of the kings after David, when the flame of God’s promise diminished to a mere flicker and darkness reigned. All of the descendents of David had been killed and the promise of God hinged on one single baby boy (2 Kings 11:2-3, 21). But God was faithful, and in the face of fierce persecution young Joash grew, evil was overthrown, and he became king as a young boy. Even when all hope seemed lost, God brought forth His plan and His promises.

God is the God of the impossible. We are tempted to give in and give up, but not so with God. No matter what evil may come, no matter what the world says and does, God will be faithful to do what He has promised.

For the child of God, God’s faithfulness is an oasis of the soul in the midst of the desert of sin and unbelief. All around the world the name of Christ is marginalized, experts debate His existence, Satan seduces and enslaves young people to the pleasures of this world, and adults are lured to sleep by the creaturely comforts we so covet.

May we never be more enamored with this world than we are with God’s faithfulness! May we continually rest in the promises of God though the earth give way and the stars fall from space! God’s Word and His promises will endure longer than this universe (see Isaiah 40:8; Mark 13:31) and all He has said will come to pass. May we rest in this knowledge and say along with John the Apostle, “Amen. Come Lord Jesus!”—Revelation 22:20. Amen.