18 December 2021
“The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager (steward), whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?" Luke 12:42 The servant's main objective is to please his master while the steward is inspired by the trust given to him. These are the two ideas we meditated on at service last weekend. The motif of the servant and steward provides us with a very clear pathway that Jesus intends for His followers to embark on. But not every Christian set off in this direction. Interestingly, a number of Jesus' end time parables are dominated by a key theme. The parable of the faithful manager who leads responsibly mentions this, another example is found in Matthew 25:1-13, in the parable of the ten virgins. The key theme is "wisdom". A wise person lives with the end in mind. Wise living embraces the knowledge that one day we shall all give an account in the way we used our gifts, time and resources. Not every Christian live wisely. The lure of temporal pleasures, the weight of heavy loans and mortgages, plus the burden of every day cares and concerns distract us easily. But for the Christian who knows how to access godly wisdom for daily living and receive guidance from God's daily bread, the ability to overcome in this present life and invest rightly in eternal life can become a practical reality. Advent presses us with this question, "are you wise?" and offers the means to do so. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask from God, who give to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5
Ps. Loke Chi Shyan