Much
Read Luke 12:42-48.
The word that captures my attention in this passage is "much." It's, I think, an intentionally ambiguous word. "Much" can mean different things to different people. It's easy enough for most of us to look around, see someone who has "more" than we do and assume that we aren't the ones who have "much."
But look who Jesus is talking about in this parable/teaching. The ones who have "much" expected of them in the story are the servants—the ones who basically have nothing except what their master provides them. It's from them that the master expects "much." It's from them that the master expects the work he has assigned them to do. It's from them that the master expects obedience (and he expects such obedience without having to remind them of what they are to do). In the parable/teaching, the servants are the ones who have "much."
Which means "much" isn't a matter of the balance in our check book or the stuff we have filling out houses. We have been given "much" if we have life, breath, food, water, a place to live, work to do, and a master who takes care of us. We are the ones who have "much," whether we consider ourselves to be well off or not.
And out of that "much" which has been given to us, Jesus expects much from us. He expects us to do our duty, to follow his commands until he returns, without him having to remind us of said duty. Which brings us to the questions...
Are we giving of our time? Our talents? Our energy? Our resources? Our money? Do we use what we have been given in service to Jesus? The basic model for giving what we have (not just money) in the Bible is a tithe or ten percent. So think about this...
What if we tithed our time? We're given 24 hours each day. A tithe of that, specifically given back to God, would be 2.4 hours each day (2 hours and 24 minutes). That's not just in "devotional time," but in serving, in worship, in learning, in loving God and loving others. I'm not trying to suggest any sort of legalistic approach, to be sure, but becoming aware of giving back to God some of the time he has given us. The day can so easily slip away with little or no thought of God (and that's even true, believe it or not, for pastors).
What if we tithed our resources? Do you see everything you have as useful to God? I knew a man whose wife would get so frustrated with him because he would often come home without a coat. Every time it was the same answer: "I gave my coat away because someone needed it." He never saw "his stuff" as just "his" stuff. (His wife, however, got tired of buying him more coats.) What do we have that we can use in service to God and to others?
"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (12:48). What is Jesus saying to you today about your "much"?
The word that captures my attention in this passage is "much." It's, I think, an intentionally ambiguous word. "Much" can mean different things to different people. It's easy enough for most of us to look around, see someone who has "more" than we do and assume that we aren't the ones who have "much."
But look who Jesus is talking about in this parable/teaching. The ones who have "much" expected of them in the story are the servants—the ones who basically have nothing except what their master provides them. It's from them that the master expects "much." It's from them that the master expects the work he has assigned them to do. It's from them that the master expects obedience (and he expects such obedience without having to remind them of what they are to do). In the parable/teaching, the servants are the ones who have "much."
Which means "much" isn't a matter of the balance in our check book or the stuff we have filling out houses. We have been given "much" if we have life, breath, food, water, a place to live, work to do, and a master who takes care of us. We are the ones who have "much," whether we consider ourselves to be well off or not.
And out of that "much" which has been given to us, Jesus expects much from us. He expects us to do our duty, to follow his commands until he returns, without him having to remind us of said duty. Which brings us to the questions...
Are we giving of our time? Our talents? Our energy? Our resources? Our money? Do we use what we have been given in service to Jesus? The basic model for giving what we have (not just money) in the Bible is a tithe or ten percent. So think about this...
What if we tithed our time? We're given 24 hours each day. A tithe of that, specifically given back to God, would be 2.4 hours each day (2 hours and 24 minutes). That's not just in "devotional time," but in serving, in worship, in learning, in loving God and loving others. I'm not trying to suggest any sort of legalistic approach, to be sure, but becoming aware of giving back to God some of the time he has given us. The day can so easily slip away with little or no thought of God (and that's even true, believe it or not, for pastors).
What if we tithed our resources? Do you see everything you have as useful to God? I knew a man whose wife would get so frustrated with him because he would often come home without a coat. Every time it was the same answer: "I gave my coat away because someone needed it." He never saw "his stuff" as just "his" stuff. (His wife, however, got tired of buying him more coats.) What do we have that we can use in service to God and to others?
"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (12:48). What is Jesus saying to you today about your "much"?
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