Faithful

God’s faithfulness is proven by time

In November 1923, a small puppy was born in Akita, Japan. Shortly after its birth, it was presented to Professor Hidesaburo Ueno, who later gained fame around the whole world.

QUESTION: What did the professor name this puppy?

He named his puppy “Hachiko”. The puppy grew up to be a faithful dog. He followed the professor everywhere. He accompanied his owner to work and always came to meet him at the same place and at the same time.

In May 1925, Professor Hidesaburo died of a heart attack. Hachiko was a year and a half at that time, and he continued to wait for his master… Every day Hachiko came to Shibuya station, as he used to when the professor was still alive, and waited for him until dusk. He slept on the porch of his house, thought the door to the house was tightly shut.

The professor’s relatives did not abandon the dog. They tried to get the families of their acquaintances to adopt Hachiko, but despite all of that the dog continued to come to the station and to wait for his master. The railway station workers, local salesmen and passers-by who knew the whole story, never ceased to be amazed by this faithfulness.

In 1932, Hachiko became famous throughout Japan, after a newspaper article about this faithful dog who had been waiting for his deceased owner for more than 7 years. People started to pour into that railway station by crowds in order to see this faithful dog. Even 9 years later (more than 3,200 days) Hachiko continued to come to Shibuya station, and he faithfully — up until his own death — waited for his master.

The day Hachiko died was a day of mourning for many Japanese. In 1934, a monument to this dog was erected, and Hachiko himself became a symbol of faithfulness and loyalty to the whole world.

People are amazed by the faithfulness of the dog which lasted for nine years, but let us reflect on the faithfulness of God who has been showing it to people for THOUSANDS of years! The Bible says,

“Know that the Lord your God is God, the trusted God who faithfully keeps his covenant to the thousandth generation of those who love him and obey his commands” (Deuteronomy 7:9)

God’s faithfulness is greater than any other, because it does not depend on anyone. God lets the sun rise over the evil and the good. God sends harvest to both Christians and Muslims. That’s what He said in the Bible, and this is how things still are, because the Almighty always keeps His promises.

PRAYER: Worship God meditating on His eternal faithfulness. Thank Him for the fact that every promise of the Bible will be fulfilled sooner or later because it was uttered by the faithful God.