People often think that doing something for a long amount of time is significant - like having the same occupation, going to the same church, being married or even being a Christian. Let me just say that this isn’t always the case.
Jesus told a story that is recorded in Matthew 25:14-30 about a man who was going away and left three of his servants in charge of all he owned and then gave each of them a sum of money based on what he thought they were capable of handling. The two servants that were given the largest amounts took that money and doubled it. The one servant that was given the least amount of money dug a hole and hid it in the ground. When the man returned from his trip he asked each of the servants what they had done with the money given to them. When the servants who had doubled the money told him what they’d done the man called them “faithful” and then gave them more responsibility. When the servant who buried the money told the master he was retuning it all back to him the master called him “lazy’ and took away what he had.
What I find interesting in this story is that the servant who was called “lazy” did not lose a cent of the master’s money and yet he was not called faithful. The conclusion I come to in reading this is that maintaining or doing something for a long period of time does not qualify as faithful and is not pleasing to God.
So what does God expect of us? He expects us to increase whatever he has placed into our hands. Not to just maintain our occupation, giftings, talents, service to others, marriage, relationships with others or with Him. He expects us to grow whatever is in our hand, whatever is given to us, to become more proficient, skilled, competent and more loving. Showing up is a big part of life, but don’t let it end there.
MARVIN MCGEE
Marv serves as Executive Operations Pastor, bringing oversight to our staff and helping to align our operations with the vision of our senior pastors. His leadership ensures we're all working towards healthy, long term growth.
