Fruit of the Spirit: Found Faithful

We think of Jesus as being the gentle teacher, meek and mild. We picture Him in full Kenny G mode, a non-threatening Anglo male with a frail build and a soft beard, holding a lamb or a small child with a pious, Mr. Rogers-esque look on His face. But when we actually read the Gospels, that image is shattered. Jesus was--and is--the most amazing man who has ever lived, but many times He was anything but comforting. This Sunday we'll study one such occasion: the parable of the talents, found in Matthew 25:14-30. In that parable, we are reminded that we all have a final exam coming up. On that date, God will not judge us based on our success or our prosperity, but on our faithfulness. Not so coincidentally, faithfulness is one of the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22, and that subject is what we've been studying at WBC for seven weeks now. What is faithfulness? And what will we need to do in order to be ready for our final exam?