Matthew 13:12 “Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

This seems manifestly unfair to many people, but we’re talking about spiritual realities here. As Paul observed, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) It’s not that God is mean (as I say repeatedly), it’s that our heart attitude is just about everything. Also, much truth and knowledge depends on a solid foundation. You can’t grasp trigonometry if you don’t have basic arithmetic mastered. Spiritually speaking, if we don’t accept that we have a Creator who loves us and has a good plan for our lives, the Gospel will seem like a total fantasy. This is a major issue in Japan, that doesn’t even have a firm foundation of monotheism. This is one reason why 1^st generation Christians might be effective evangelists, but deep theologians are likely to have been raised in Christian homes, at least. That’s one of many reasons why it’s important for Christian parents to actively, intentionally, lay a foundation of faith in their children. It is the single most important, most valuable, thing they can do for them. Everything else is temporal, but that is for eternity.

This certainly applies to me. My parents were missionaries, one grandfather was a pastor and the other a seminary professor, and one of my great-grandfathers was a pastor. Many spiritual concepts have seemed simple to me, when they seemed dense to people around me. When I was first exposed to the Charismatic Movement in 1973 I immediately recognized it as Biblical, though I had heard nothing of the sort previously, at least to remember it. That doesn’t make me “better” than others, it just gives me a different toolkit. And certainly, it’s not something I chose, much less earned. The thing is, as Jesus said clearly, “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.” (Luke 12:48) It would be easier if I hadn’t been given so much! Just yesterday I was going through things in a drawer of a desk I inherited from my father, much of which I had put in there and some of which had been there when I received the desk over 40 years ago. The emotional strain just about broke me down, because I am currently more than 11 years older than my father was when the Lord took him home. The question is always, what have I done with what I have been given? I am not a good judge of that, but I know and depend on the reality that God is a righteous and gracious Judge, and I am covered with the blood of Jesus. My rewards are up to Him, but my salvation is sure, and I am to rest, relax, and rejoice in that assurance.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for yesterday, and for Cathy’s presence and love that helped sustain me. I ask for wisdom in dealing with all the stuff that was in that drawer, and for skill in repairing the bottom of it that is tearing up. May I be a good steward of all You have given me, on every level, so that Your purposes may be fulfilled in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!