A Response of Trust
Luke 19:16–17
"The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ "Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities."
Christ gives us the right kind of confidence in life especially when it matters. It isn't just boldness that can be used for furthering God's Kingdom (although that is its main purpose) but it is a wholesome faith in God and in ourselves too, that because of Jesus, we can live a fulfilled life, take calculated risks and win and glorify God by multiplying the gifts uniquely entrusted to each of us. It is a sign of peace in our hearts amid vicissitudes. Christ challenges us to fear less and have our faith increased and with that our lives increase as well. It always brings me back to time when Jesus calmed the waves (in the Greek it was actually "seismos", so it was the waters of the Sea of Galilee rocked by a quake that brings squalls as well, a tsunami!) He says in Mark 4:40: "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" And He asks us the same to trust that He is with us and He will never leave nor abandon us (Deut 31:6) in similarly precarious situations. CS Lewis once wrote, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point." There will be many times we are called to make a stand for our vision and for our values as also times to take risks and claim God's blessings and multiply it, to love or emotionally invest even with possibly diminishing returns but to do it anyway. It is grace under pressure; courage is moving forward in spite of being vulnerable, it is ultimately a response of trust in God's promises—the most spot on definition of faith. Friends, take heart and be at peace, we are beyond conquerors (Rom 8:38) because Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33).
"The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ "Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities."
Christ gives us the right kind of confidence in life especially when it matters. It isn't just boldness that can be used for furthering God's Kingdom (although that is its main purpose) but it is a wholesome faith in God and in ourselves too, that because of Jesus, we can live a fulfilled life, take calculated risks and win and glorify God by multiplying the gifts uniquely entrusted to each of us. It is a sign of peace in our hearts amid vicissitudes. Christ challenges us to fear less and have our faith increased and with that our lives increase as well. It always brings me back to time when Jesus calmed the waves (in the Greek it was actually "seismos", so it was the waters of the Sea of Galilee rocked by a quake that brings squalls as well, a tsunami!) He says in Mark 4:40: "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" And He asks us the same to trust that He is with us and He will never leave nor abandon us (Deut 31:6) in similarly precarious situations. CS Lewis once wrote, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point." There will be many times we are called to make a stand for our vision and for our values as also times to take risks and claim God's blessings and multiply it, to love or emotionally invest even with possibly diminishing returns but to do it anyway. It is grace under pressure; courage is moving forward in spite of being vulnerable, it is ultimately a response of trust in God's promises—the most spot on definition of faith. Friends, take heart and be at peace, we are beyond conquerors (Rom 8:38) because Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33).
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