“One who is faithful
in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very
little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the
unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have
not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is
your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:10-13).
Maturing disciples are always learning to live
this temporal life in the shadow of eternity. Everything we see here is
incomparable to the reality that awaits us in Heaven… “We look not to the
things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are
seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2
Corinthians 4:18). But the things of this world are a vital part of God’s
plan to prepare us for eternity. The people, places, victories, and trials of
this life are the tools God uses to refine and sharpen our faith… “In
this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been
grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more
precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to
result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1
Peter 1:6-7). This means every person, every thing, and every circumstance
in our lives is God’s investment in us. Whether little or much, righteous or
unrighteous, self-inflicted or caused by others, our sovereign God uses
everything in this life to refine our faith, conform our will, and prepare us
for Heaven… “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for
his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). This important spiritual
principle shapes the attitude of true disciples toward the temporal, transient
things of this world and exhorts us to serve God above everything else. Today Jesus
reinforces this truth with an insightful word for truth seekers about the
stewardship that is faithful.
Determined disciples are becoming managers,
not misers. Jesus reminded His disciples in this lesson that we are
eternal beings living in a temporal world, and we own nothing here. God’s plan
from the beginning was for us to care for and manage HIS creation… “The LORD
God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis
2:15). Fallen people have a fallen view of God’s world that corrupts and
compels them to earnestly pursue the accumulation of material things, until the
truth hits them squarely in the face… “For what will it profit a man if
he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in
return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). As we learn to hold loosely the
things of this world we become more fully surrendered to the holy purpose and work
of the Lord.
Diligent disciples are becoming generous,
not greedy. Jesus was intentional in beginning this brief but powerful
lesson with an exhortation to be faithful and honest with little. He knew the
difference between the little we have and experience here on earth compared to
the much that awaits us in Heaven. The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to
reinforce Christ’s encouragement to invest everything today to produce a
lasting, righteous harvest tomorrow… “He who supplies seed to the sower
and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase
the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Corinthians 9:10). As our
faithfulness and honesty grows we sow seeds of righteousness in an unrighteous
world.
Disciplined disciples are becoming sanctified,
not selfish. All we touch here reveals the Glory of God… “For his
invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been
clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that
have been made” (Romans 1:20). In
the beginning, mankind was given the ability to glorify and honor God by caring
for and managing God’s creation… “Yet you have made him a little lower
than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:5).
When we are born again we are set free to renounce slavery to worldly things
and to freely serve God wholeheartedly through holy stewardship of everything
He has created… “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a
cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16). As we
let go of worldly things we become more set apart and available for Godly
things.
As we grow up into Christ, He gets the
glory as we trust and practice…
The Stewardship that is Faithful.
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