In Jesus' Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30, he talks about three men given 5, 2 &1 talent respectively. No instructions for each servant, they were just entrusted with his possessions. I was thinking recently of the relationship between Jesus' parable and Paul's statement in Philippians 1:9 - this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more ... It occurred to me, what if the Master entrusted to his servants "love" instead of "talents," or possessions? What if the first servant received five measures of love, and the second servant received two measures of love, and the last servant received one? Does that thought shape the issue differently? It does for me. If the Master is waiting for his servants to invest their love in the lives of others, then the great "sin" of the last servant was that he didn't "bank" his love with another person's life, and at least collect interest. I know that Jesus' teaching is about the use of the gifts that God has given us, but let's not forget to be good stewards of the love that God has invested in us. We love because God first loved us. Love gains interest the more we invest it into the lives of others.
Last week, the blog that never materialized, was invested in the life of Michael Darnell's family. I conducted a funeral on Thursday at the request of Dick and Bonnie Nagel, Mike's in-laws. I was touched by the open sharing at the funeral. The family readily shared how much Mike's life had touched their lives. He had invested so much of his time building extended family relationships, encouraging others, and just all-around leading a life worth living. He added so much value to everyone else. At the funeral I shared my personal translation of Psalm 23 because it seemed so appropriate given the facts I knew about Mike. When I put Psalm 23 in my own words, this is how it came out:
"The Lord as my shepherd makes me lie down to rest
He leads me to calm waters so I will be refreshed
The Lord restores my soul when it runs out of gas
He keeps me on the right path
Even when I face death, no fear will overwhelm me, and God will comfort me
He prepares a table for me, anoints me and spills my cup of blessing to overflowing
with his blessings poured out upon me
Just as goodness and mercy will be with me all the days of my life
I know I will live in the house of the Lord forever and forever."
After going through that little exercise, I realized that David knew God is beside us throughout our life. No wonder Jesus said, "no one can snatch you out of my Father's hand." (John 10:28) How could they? If we have a relationship with the Son, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are with us every step of the way.
See you Sunday, Pastor Rog
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