The Third One's The Charm

Wow!  Sorry so late, thought I had finished this one.  Way back on November 20 we listened to the final in the three sermon series on Matthew 25, preparing and waiting for the coming of Christ.  Whether it be the celebration of the coming of the baby, or the second coming, we have been considering how we wait, how we prepare ourselves.

So far in this series I have learned we are responsible for preparing ourselves.  No one can do it for us.  And we must act, do, use what we have been given.  We are to create communities that reflect and project the love of God in to the world.  Today we considered how we do that - our attitude toward servitude, having a servant's heart, seriously looking at who or what we serve.

I think a recap will get that done, help reflect on and process some unspoken yet understood messages.  First, all people are by nature equally undeserving.  There is plenty of scriptural basis for this statement, but it seems to me that in this God-helps-those-who-help-themselves materialistic culture, we (I) often fall into the trap of believing that because I help those less fortunate, because I share, because I support my community of faith, because I do other things I somehow merit special consideration.  False.  None of us is any more deserving than the other.  What makes the difference is not what we do, but what we believe - in God.

Second, because God favors someone else, it does not diminish me, because neither one of us deserved anything to begin with.  This one goes back to the parable of the vineyard owner and the workers.  I also see this principle in the parable of the talents.  There was no jealousy between the workers because of the differing amounts they were given. God gives according to need and ability, and expects us to use what we have been given.


Finally, we choose.  God has chosen to offer eternal life, to do right, to give us what we need and can handle.  Our actions - and inaction - have consequences.  We can be goats or we can be sheep.  We can choose to be saved through Jesus, demonstrating by our actions that we understand what we are called to do and who we are called to be.  We choose how to invest our lives, but if we choose badly God does not and based on Matthew 25:31-46 will not save us from our bad choices.

Ephesians 2:10 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Time for this goat to get do-ing.