"Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."
(I Corinthians 4:2)
Booker T. Washington, late nineteenth and early twentieth century African-American educator, author, and political leader, once said,"Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him." Mr. Washington believed that in order for blacks in the south to rise above the oppression that so dominated their culture, opportunity would have to be offered that could empower them with confidence to become the person God created them to be. His role as the first leader of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama helped open doors for students to develop skills that would allow them to claim greater responsibility for their futures and to have a significant impact on the world around them.
The apostle Paul knew the importance of embracing opportunities of service through responsible action. To prove faithful in a task given or calling extended was to honor God and make a difference for the Kingdom. The early church was dependent on the responsible actions of its members who were to share their resources, bear each other's burdens, and place the needs of the community before their own. All of this served to remind them that their faith in Jesus Christ compelled them to recognize that God had given them a great gift that was to be shared freely and offered compassionately to the world around them.
Jesus said, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected." You and I have been given a great trust through faith in Jesus Christ. This trust is not to be clutched in our fists selfishly, or held closely as a guarded secret of our hearts. The good news of Jesus Christ is to shine through us, for "those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."
Christ calls us to take up our cross on this Lenten journey...a trust that must be proven faithful.
Jim Abernathy
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