It was the last four or five minutes of Bible class time. We had already sung our songs, had our lesson, and recited the twelve apostles. Because I knew it would soon be time to go, I let the children get out of their chairs to play with a few toys we had in the room. One of the students went straight for the duplo blocks.
As he began to stack them one on top of the other he said, "Look, I am building a tower."
"Yes you are," was my reply. "And you are doing a great job. I am so proud of you!"
He looked at me and said with calm assurance, "My daddy is proud of me." And then he went right back to playing. He had no doubt in his mind that his father loved him and was proud of him. He had faith in his dad's love. He also had the confidence in himself to know that what he had done would make his father happy and proud. He was full of assurance. I am so thankful for good Godly mommies and daddies who love their children and give them that kind of assurance - both in themselves and in their parents!
Well, you can probably guess where I am going with this. My thoughts have come back to this incident over and over again since it happened a few weeks ago. I thought about how much better we would all feel if we could say that our Heavenly Father was proud of us. Think about it. Have you lived your life in such a way that you can say "My Father is proud of me?" It is our choice what kind of life we live. It always has been. The Bible gives us the way to follow. We can know if we are making our Heavenly Father proud of us. God did not leave us in the dark here. He left us His Holy Word to guide our way. Each person decides for themselves whether or not to follow the guide we have been given.
In the parable of the talents the lord of these three men tells the two good servants, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." I think you could say that the Master was proud of his servants for their work on his behalf, don't you? These servants had obeyed their master and had been fruitful with what their lord had given them. You will notice that as they came to him, they were confident in themselves. Much like my little friend, these two servants had that calm assurance in the work they had done.
I know that it is God's grace and mercy that saves us; but doesn't this parable, taught by God's own Son, teach us that God has something for all of us to do? God gives us all a purpose. We are to use what He has given us and be fruitful with it. Now, in this parable talents are money. It is very important not to forget this. We are definitely supposed to be good stewards of our funds so that we can help the church grow. My stewardship - my money management is something that I am working on this year.
However, all of us also know that God gives us more than money. He gives us a mind and body should be used to work for Him. We are supposed to use whatever he gives for His gain and for His glory. It doesn't matter what the talent or skill is - every single one of us can do something. We will not want to be found lacking when the Savior comes back. Take what you have and thank God for it. Then go out and find a way to use it to strengthen His kingdom. Having done this you can have this same calm assurance that my little Bible student friend had. He had faith in his skills with those building blocks - he had faith in his dad -- he knew that his dad was proud of him. If we are seeking God's will, if we are doing whatever we can to be fruitful we can know that our Heavenly Father is proud of us too. We can have that same calm.
I am reminded of the song, "Blessed Assurance."
Listen to the beautiful words written by Fanny J. Crosby:
"Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!"
With this assurance we know that divine glory awaits us.
"Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood."
It is His cleansing blood that gives us the assurance of being God's heir.
"Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love."
"Perfect submission, all is at rest: I in my Savior am happy and blest; watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love."
Through our submission to His will, we can delight in His mercy and love. If we are
in Christ and living our lives in submission to HIm. We can rest and be happy in
fact that He will reward us - we will live with Him! If we are filled with His goodness
can look above, we can watch and wait with blessed assurance. How wonderful is
that?
Do you have that assurance in your Heavenly Father and His Son? Do you know that they are proud of the work you have done in the church - the kingdom of God? Well, that assurance can be yours - if you only read the Bible and learn of God's will for your life. Your Father will be proud of you. Then you can know He will say to you one day, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Christ above all things,
Robin
No comments:
Post a Comment