Welcome to Gaia! ::

This struck me deep tonight. It was a verse that came up in God's Not Dead 4 (it was great, by the way - set me on fire spiritually, and I'm thankful for the messages conveyed in it, especially in our day and time) fairly briefly, but it got me thinking quite deeply into it.

In Luke 12:47-48 NIV we see:

“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.
But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. 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.

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It got me wondering, it sounds pretty straight forward, but there's some deeper messages within it.

The surrounding context of Luke 12:48 NIV is worth the read, too. This was part of one of Jesus' parables that is told about the "wise and faithful manager" about a servant that manages his resources wisely. The master is pleased and puts him in charge of all of his possessions.

This kind of reminds me of The Parable of the Talents as well, it has a similar ring to it, which can be read about in Matthew 25:14–30.

It gets me to thinking, how much has God entrusted to me? How much has he entrusted to others? Do I suffer so much in this life at times because I have been entrusted with much and need to be doing more with what God has given me? Am I managing my God-given gifts wisely?

It's not only the rich and wealthy in this life that are given much. This doesn't have to be only things that lie on the materialistic or financial side of the spectrum.

God gives us each gifts as it mentions in Romans 12:3-8 NIV:

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

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We are called here to use the gifts that God has given us to be responsible servants, to use them responsibly and for good.

I'm not sure how many people here know of someone who has a clear, God given gift, but they choose to use it for evil? Sadly, I've seen it. It ends up ugly and they end up hurting many people for their own selfish reasons. There have been times I've seen this and been like, "Wow, if only they would use that gift the right way, for good, and for God's will - they'd be a force to be reckoned with, but in a great way."

We should be able to give to others what God has given to us. Using our gifts to serve the Lord.

There may be some out there who think, "Well, I'm not asking for much. God hasn't blessed me with much. I'm not going to study into God's gifts and what my gift is too much so I'm not going to be responsible for all that stuff that comes with that." It's further from the truth, though. For us to play the ignorance card doesn't excuse us from what we should be doing for God.

It is clear what is required of us while reading The Holy Bible. We are to obey and stick to God's laws and follow His will for our life.

Matthew 16:24-27 NIV:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.


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Further questions for your own, personal growth (response on this thread is not required):

1. What do you feel your gifts are that God has given you?

2. How are you using the gifts God has given to you? Are you using them for good or for evil?

3. How would you interpret Luke 12:47-48? What do you feel this means, "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."?

4. How has God blessed you in your life?

5. How do you feel God expects you to use what He has given you?

You're welcome 3nodding

This was a while ago, I had to read it again razz