Happy birthday, bearded baby boy!
When you were a little boy you loved treasure hunts. One memory of such is the Easter egg hunts with your sisters. While they were racing to find (the most) eggs, you were slowly, methodically adding them to you basket, while stopping and pondering where you would look next.
The treasure hunts don’t end with the end of childhood.
As you get older what you treasure becomes the direction of and how you live your life. So, you need to realize what it is, why, and the consequences (both good and bad) of pursuing such treasure.
Every hour of our days is a gift, and it is up to us to use that time as we choose. That is the freedom in the gift. As with anything else in our lives, the freedom in the gift also comes with consequence, both good and bad.
The Bible tells us over and over about the use of our time.
Ecclesiastes 3 is probably the most familiar to believers and non-believers alike, as it offers a myriad of ways that we can use our gift of time.
Matthew 6:33 tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
Galatians 6:10 encourages us to use our time for the benefit of others, “as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone.”
Psalm 39:4, reminds us our lives are short, “LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered–how fleeting my life is.”
But it is the Parable of the Talents that I offer to you in this usage of the gift of time.
As with all the Parables (meaning to throw alongside) that Jesus shared, this is a story which is parallel to another.
According to Matthew Henry’s Commentary, the master in the story is believed to represent Christ. The servants are (big surprise) those of us who follow him. We receive all that we have from him, and he gives generously. But, what he gives, we owe him.
Now this Master had (has) left us in charge of the gifts he has given to us. He has trusted us with his best. He has also taken our abilities into consideration, and has given us only what we are able to care for. Some take those treasures, and invest them for long term returns. Others, fearing that they might lose what they have been given, hide the treasures given to them (as if ‘under a bushel’). The Master returns (as he will), and praises those who have shared the riches that they have been given. They are blessed with the words of their Master, “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” (v. 21 & 23).
The best measure of what you truly treasure is how you spend (invest) your hours. Take a look at your days, your week, and see where you invest your time. The activities that you truly treasure are the ones that you are investing the majority of your time.
Do those activities lead toward seeking the kingdom? Do they indicate that you place that time in the hands of God? Are those activities helping you to do good to everyone? Do they indicate that you know how fleeting life is?
Matthew 6:21 reminds us,
“Your heart will always pursue what you treasure.”
May you live your life’s days as an offering back to God, of this good gift He has given.
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Just days ago the calendar was announcing the beginning of autumn. For weeks, the moon and all of nature were already offering us sneak peaks in the season that is now upon us.
itsawonderfilledlife 