Thursday, October 31, 2024

            In Luke 12, we find some extensive teaching material from Jesus.  And Jesus was often called by the name or title “teacher” or “rabbi.”  And He did teach.  He was the greatest teacher ever.  He was also more than a teacher.  He is Lord.  He is God in the flesh.  He is our Savior.  And He has promised to return one day.  But His teachings form a framework for how we are to live.  His standard is perfect.  Think of all the times you hear a word or sentence that originated with Jesus’ own teachings.  Love God.  Love your neighbor.  Pray for your enemies.  Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
            In Luke 12:48b, Jesus taught, “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.”  Our Lord is saying that we are blessed, resourced, gifted and equipped to serve Him and to live for His glory.  We are not to think that our blessings are simply ours to hoard or hide away as we please.  He has blessed us and provided for us so we can be generous and gracious in our living. 
            We often have to ask ourselves if we are doing much with the time we have been given.  Are we doing much with the opportunities granted to us?  Are we doing much with open doors and pathways that the Lord has placed before us?  Christians, churches, and ministries are blessed to be agencies for the gospel message.  The greatest treasure we possess is the good news of Jesus and what He has accomplished for us.  Today is Reformation Day—the time when we remember what Martin Luther did to call attention to the power of grace and the cross.  The great truth of salvation by grace through faith has changed all who come to faith and surrender to Christ.  We have that same message to share and proclaim today. 
            We want to make much of Jesus because He has given much to us.  He has brought and bought us back from the grave, sin and the snare of Satan.  The gospel is a great treasure that we have to share.  As we prepare to wrap up 2024 with only two months to go, how can you do much for the Lord with what He has given to you?  Where could you make a difference for His glory?  Jesus said in Luke 12:15b that “life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”  So true!  The world might tell us to grab and to gain all we can.  But Jesus teaches us to serve all we can and to trust Him to supply us as we serve Him.
            One way that we can keep this teaching from Jesus is to take inventory of what we have been given.  The ways in which God has blessed you could be a really good indication of where you can serve.  If you have an abundance of time, you could be called to pray, to reach out to folks looking for Christ or a church home or volunteering in disaster relief.  If you have financial blessings, you could adopt families at Christmas or support relief efforts in Western North Carolina. 
            Some may choose to sit on what they have.  Jesus spoke to this bad decision in Luke 12 too.  He taught the parable of the rich fool.  Jesus made it clear that this kind of thinking or conviction is at odds with God’s way of seeing blessings and gifts.  In a portion of that parable, the Lord said, “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’  But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’”  Sitting on what we have means we are fools and living foolishly.  May we do much with the much we have been given.  May we stretch out our blessings so the Lord is glorified and the gospel is proclaimed.  Have a great Thursday!  Remember today is Reformation Day as we remember the great themes of Christ alone, Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone and all things for the glory of God alone!