Making the Most of Life

At Lifegroup this week, we studied the "Parable of the Talents" in Matthew 25.  (In this story, the master gives three men a portion of his money, but each man receives a different amount.  The two who were given the most invested it wisely and earned more, but the one given the least simply hid the money until the master returned and failed to gain any reward.)

The Holy Spirit helped me see this in a new light that night...

I think we all have areas where we feel "less than" those around us -- where we compare ourselves with others and feel inferior.  Comparison steals our joy and often causes us to devalue ourselves, to miss God's unique gifts to us.  I have felt this a little lately regarding my personality... truthfully, the world is full of people who are more outgoing, funny, expressive, bold, dynamic, driven, intelligent, and naturally eloquent than I am.  But that shouldn't matter - because God created me just the way He wanted me to become who He called me to be.

Jesus' parable teaches that each person is only responsible for what he is given.  

There's usually a mixture of highs and lows, but whatever God has given you, you play the hand you're dealt to the best of your ability.  It's between you and God in the end, not anyone else, so you don't ever "fold" because someone else has a better hand...

God made you who you are on purpose, and you're responsible to make the most of your life here.  When you look around, it might feel really unfair at times... but Satan does all he can to keep us focused on things we cannot change so that we will fail to change the things we can.  Even if others seem to have five or ten times more than you, you can always make good choices with what you've been given.  

Everything we DO have is a gift from God.  And He wants each of us to make the most of our unique story, personality, spiritual gifts, and talents!

Happy Thursday! =)

"To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away."  ~Matthew 25:29