Life is a gift. This one you were given to live at this very moment… this one that is messy, chaotic, painful, joyful, exciting, and unpredictable. This life that is filled with love, laughter, tears, and sorrow — it is a GIFT. And this gift is also your test, because this life is merely a practice round for what is in store for you if you do well with what you have been given.
Just as Jesus taught us in the Parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19:11–26, those who believe in Christ as our King, our Lord and Savior, have been entrusted with a deposit. This deposit, given to us because Jesus is no longer walking among us, is the Holy Spirit. As Holy Spirit lives in us, it is up to us what we allow the power of the Spirit to do through us. This power is the same power that God used to resurrect Jesus and place him on the throne at his right hand, so there are no limits to what Holy Spirit can do through us if we freely live through him.
While we are separated from Jesus, who will return to us as our King, the lesson is clear in this parable that we are to amplify the message we have been given to further his kingdom. Shout it from the rooftops, spread the message over the internet, announce it over the airways, pray in public, proclaim your belief on your clothing and cars, and praise him with abandon at church. Use whatever platform you have been given to announce that the Lord that gives us life is coming soon. At the very least, don’t sit on your hands and wait for his return, because as Jesus told the people, those who were given this deposit and yet have done nothing will have it taken away, and those who already have much will be given more.
To make it even more clear to you, if you are a Believer and choose to be complacent, stuck in the fear of judgment of others, believing the lies of the enemy that tell you you’re not good enough, that you don’t deserve to be rewarded with eternal life in heaven, getting caught up in the busyness of life at the expense of your time with God, then you are like the servant who kept the money laid away in a piece of cloth, not investing it or wisely increasing it during the King’s absence.
Christians that have professed their belief in Jesus as their Lord and Savior and yet fall away from having a relationship with Jesus are merely hiding their treasured gift away in a cloth, and when your King comes back he is not going to be pleased! Wake up, all who will hear, and use this life wisely. Don’t waste a single moment to begin building or rebuilding your relationship to Jesus, or you risk being passed over and discarded on the day of judgment.
And for those in this world who don’t want Jesus to be their King at all? The day of judgment is going to be devastating and painful beyond anything this world has ever experienced. If you have a relationship with someone like this, make sure they know the choice that they are making for eternity.
(Originally posted on medium.com by Steph on Feb. 15, 2023)