Dear Brethren, Co-Workers and Friends,
In the big picture of world events that are surging forward and fulfilling prophecies that other generations have only wondered about, how does all of this relate to each one of us?
What does God expect of us?
It is so easy to get caught up in the events of the moment—all of the myriad of things that occupy our time. And without question, we all have responsibilities to our families, to our work, to personal necessities—to our place in life!
We each must ask ourselves a most vital question in light of how we are living our own life, day by day. That question is, “Am I READY, NOW, for what is ahead?”
This is our area of responsibility! When Jesus presented the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the contrast was between a profitable servant and one who was unprofitable. At the crux of this presentation was an absolutely key principle that we must be faithful with what we have been given.
Consider what we have been given. We have been called into the truth of God (John 16:13;
2 Thessalonians 2:13). In that calling, we have access to the Father through the living Jesus Christ—our Savior and High Priest before God. We have the promise of eternal life (John 10:28). Other people in this world just don’t have this same opportunity—at least, not yet (John 14:16-17). We must not take this incredible relationship lightly!
How can we be profitable servants in fulfilling our part in this relationship? One way is to make sure to communicate—talk to God in prayer. If we do that and if we make prayer an ongoing priority in all that we do, then we can truly walk with God (1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:8; Ephesians 6:18).
Another measure for us is overcoming. Christians must live a life of overcoming sin. In each message to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus very specifically says that the one who overcomes will receive what has been promised. We need to approach overcoming sin relentlessly! Without a close awareness of God and His will for us, we will stumble in this task.
How about God’s Word? What part does it play in our life, or is it merely reserved for the occasional reference? We all know that deeply studying the Bible brings us closer to God (2 Timothy 2:15, Authorized Version). Let’s not wait to make the Bible an active part of our lives; rather, we need to overcome even in this matter. Remember, as well, to ask God to open up His Word so that we can understand (Luke 24:32, 45; Acts 16:14).
Haven’t we heard all of this before? Yes, we have, and we all need to be reminded of our responsibility before God in these matters. When we grow weary of these very basic parts of our calling, we are placing ourselves in mortal danger!
Brethren, our conviction of you is that you are being profitable servants of God. We see the fruits in your continuing loyalty to the Work of God and in your mutual love and concern for one another in the Church. Thank you for that! We say with Paul that we are “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). But at the same time, we are admonished to be even more diligent to make our calling sure (2 Peter 1:10). As Paul continued with such admonishment in his letter to the Philippians, so do we: “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).
Keep doing what you know you are called to accomplish! Let’s all commit ourselves to be even more zealous as true servants of God! We need to become ready NOW (Revelation 19:7; Luke 12:40; compare Luke 1:17)! We need to focus, and be praying NOW for the Work of God; for our brethren; and for God’s protection and our endurance unto eternal life—especially during the terrible times just ahead of us (Matthew 9:38; Colossians 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 3:1; Luke 21:36; Jude 20-21).
It is, after all, what God expects of us.
In Christ’s Service,
David J. Harris
