Can I Trust You?

Imagine you are having a conversation with God and He opens by asking, “I have given you the key to the Kingdom, can I trust you to do what I have asked you to do my child?” Beaming with delight that God has chosen you for this honor you blurt out, “Of course Father, You can trust me!” Anxious to prove yourself to Him, you watch every step and hold the key tight every night and look at it all shiny and new each dawn. As time passes nothing out of the ordinary is happening and your Father hasn’t even mentioned the key in a very long time. You start to wonder why He picked you “to do nothing” but hold on to it.  Soon you forget about the key and carry on as you did before you received the key from your Father. For many this is what the gift of salvation is like. We know Jesus is “the key” and through Him, we are granted grace and access to the Throne. Because we aren’t overtly asked to use our key, we grow lackadaisical about the responsibility that comes with it.
 
From the Genesis to Revelation, God has declared a chosen people and said of them, “You are my people and I am your God.” He reminded Isaac in Genesis 26:24; Moses in Exodus 3:6 and 6:7; and Leviticus 11:44. Similar declarations are in the synoptic Gospels when Jesus speaks in John 8:42; 14:1; and 20:17 as well as Acts 7:32 and Revelation 19:10 so one must ask,”Why does the Lord remind Believers so many times, one hundred to be exact, that He is our God? Perhaps He is asking us a question through His declarations and subsequent actions. Perhaps He is asking, “Can I trust you?” He is asking if as His people we will worship Him before anything and anyone else? He is asking if we will observe His commandments and honor His grace. He is asking if we will love our neighbors as we love ourselves. He is asking if we will bury the talents He has given us or if we will do as He commands and multiply.
 
Embodied in God’s trust is the concept of stewardship. Stewardship is the revelation that God is the creator and owner of all things, and the recognition that we [His people] have been entrusted with resources to fulfill God’s purposes.ยน Can He trust you to be a good steward of the keys to the Kingdom? He created us and then empowered us with the capacity to rule and create other things. Can God trust you to serve as steward of a mission that puts reconciliation first? Can He count on you to reconcile families, husbands and wives, disobedient children, angry bosses, the stranger in the street? Can He trust you to give Him the glory, honor, and praise that He deserves for all that comes forth through us? What have you been given and what are you doing with it? Are you giving God your all? How do you know? As your brother or sister, can I trust you to pray for me when you disagree with me? As the sons and daughters of God, can we be counted on to do His will at all times over and above what seems right to us?
 
In the Old Testament God showed us He does not care about religiosity as He exalted His son Jesus over and above the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He is not impressed that we go to church every Sunday or attend weekly Bible study. While these are important activities, He really takes notice when we trust Him unconditionally and multiply what He has given us. God called it “wicked and lazy” when one of His children hid their talent instead of choosing to multiply it (Matthew 25:14-15). You have been given His promise as a new creation in Jesus Christ. You have been given talents. You have heard directly from God through Holy Scripture. Can you be trusted with all that pertains to life and godliness? Can you be trusted to choose life over death?
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1. Derry L. Moten , You Have Been Given, pt. 1, Abundant Life Worship Center, January 1, 2017
 
Contributor: Tara Lynn Gray

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