Hey, I hope you’re having a good summer. Do you have any fun plans? Maybe you’re going to the beach or somewhere else? That’s one of my favorite parts of summer. That and summer storms. I can hear one outside right now while I’m writing this. 

My best friend and I have been talking lately about God and the kind of lives He wants for us and we realized we’ve both been pretty lackluster recently. Just thinking of God and what He’s done for us and how very much He loves us, are we living in a way that reflects that? We serve an amazing God. Like truly, truly amazing. A God who knows us inside and out, who knew every single moment of our lives before any of them ever existed. 

And how do we live a life to reflect the love our God has for us? How do we honor Him with our lives? Look at the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Each of the people is given an amount of money entrusted to them by their master. They each get a different amount but they’re each expected to do something with it. The first is given five talents, the second two, and the third one. The master comes back and the first two have multiplied their shares and are congratulated by the master for their efforts. The third man does nothing with his and is scolded. 

That third man had an incorrect understanding of his master, assuming him to be “a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed (Matt. 25:24).” And the master responds sarcastically to him, saying basically that since the servant “knows” him to be such a hard man then he should have gotten interest for the master at least. In reality, in verses 21 and 23 we see the master congratulating the other two warmly with “well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

This doesn’t sound like a hard man to deal with. He’s complimentary. He promotes his servants to higher responsibilities since they’ve proven themselves capable. And he tells them to enter into the joy of their master. A hard man would likely have taken his money and left. 

Our God is also a warm Master rather than a hard one. He’s loving and He gives us our lives to do with them as we see fit, the same way the master did in the parable. And the same as the servants, we can choose to live our lives in a way that multiplies, using the talents and resources He’s given us to further His kingdom and make Him known, or we can choose to be like the third one. Too scared to do anything.  

Ask God if you don’t know what to do. We’re given this one life by our God and our purpose primarily at its root is to point others back to Him. No matter what job you do, who you see, whatever it is. Our main goal is to fill Heaven. To make His Book of Life full. Plant the seeds. Foster the plants. And then let Him grow the fruit. Love your neighbor. Be the best example of God’s love that you can be. 

Know Him and make Him known.