Chronological Gospels: Luke 16:1-17:10
In Luke 16 Jesus tells a series of parables. He begins the chapter with the parable of the unrighteous servant where the man essentially worries he will be caught in his unrighteous deeds and be fired from his position. His response is to go around to all the people who owe his master a debt and shave off a portion of their debt in order to win their favor and hope they will help him in the future.
At the end of the story, Jesus says in the CSB to “make friends for yourselves by worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings.” He goes on to explain that those who are faithful with little will be faithful with much, and those who are unrighteous with a little will be unrighteous with much.
This whole parable is a lesson to be future-focused and to have a Kingdom-oriented mindset. In the beginning, the servant was acting unrighteously thinking about his own gains in the moment. Later he is generous and forgiving to others in preparation for the future. We, too, are called to be generous and forgiving with the worldly wealth and resources the Lord provides for us, and use them for Kingdom purposes. We should allow Christ to determine how we use our possessions.
By focusing on serving the Lord with all that we have we will be devoted to Him and be blessed with more to continue to turn around and use again for His Kingdom. When we are faithful with a little, He will trust us to be faithful with more. No matter how much we are given we must remain Kingdom-focused and look to our future in Heaven as our reward and treasure.
How can you serve the Kingdom with what you have been given?
What does this parable teach you about the Kingdom and your role in it?
As Jesus continues His lesson He continues to emphasize the importance of Kingdom values over worldly values. It reminds me of the parable of the sower where one of the places seeds were scattered began to grow, but too many distractions and things of the world came and suffocated the roots and killed the vine.
When we become focused on worldly things and fail to focus on the Kingdom, we fail to use what we have for the Kingdom, and we end up letting worldliness distract us and suffocate the root of faith planted in us. We become our own stumbling block when we let the world tempt us away from Kingdom priorities.
Not only this, but when we fail to use what we have for the Lord’s work, we prove to be unfaithful with the resources and blessings He has given us. He gives for His purposes, and if we don’t use it for His purposes He will not entrust us with more.
What does this teach you about who God is?
What does this teach you about who we are to God?
Pray and reflect on how God wants to use you, and pray, like the apostles did, for Him to increase your faith.
