1 Sam. 10-12
Israel made a mistake in rejecting God – the perfect King – and demanding an imperfect, human king for themselves. When they confessed their evil, Samuel’s response was this: “’Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for Himself.’” (1 Sam 12:20b-22) Wow – what a promise to us as God’s people! We have done all this evil, but fear not – God will not forsake us because He has chosen us as His own!!!
Luke 19:1-27
Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. But until His return, He has left us to conduct His business here on Earth. He makes this clear in the Parable of the Ten Minas, which He told because His departure time was drawing near and His believers still expected the “Warrior King” Messiah for their ‘here and now.’ So, about that business He left us to….because He uses money in this parable, we tend to think about money and investing. But really, Jesus’ business here on Earth had nothing to do with money. I have known this, but it just struck me this morning that the parable is saying that He left us to tend to His business, and that gives a whole different meaning. And, in light of all His talk about storing up our treasure in Heaven, well….it’s not about money.
Jesus told us what His business is about in the verses prior to this parable in the story about Zacchaeus. Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” That is His business. Obviously, it is not up to us to save the lost (can’t do that!), but it seems to me that anything we do to point others His way is an investment of the resources He left with us that will reap a reward at His return. Treasures in Heaven. How, then, should we live our lives so that we might be found to be “good and faithful servants”?