Free Will - Reflections from Eden | A Sermon on Genesis 3

Introduction
Last Sunday, we learned God designed us to be good stewards of His creation and all that He entrusts to our care.  Everyone in church last Sunday received a $5 bill and was asked to pray about how they could use the $5 to bless someone.  How did you use your $5 “talent” to be a blessing?  Don’t forget to place your stewardship survey on the altar today.  I look forward to reading how everyone used their talent.

Today, we are going to read about free will in Genesis 3.  God wants us to be able to love Him and love cannot be coerced.  It must be freely given.  So, God created us with free will, the ability to make choices freely, without being forced, allowing people to decide between right and wrong.  Of course, the freedom to love and obey God also comes with the possibility people will choose to hate and disobey Him.  All this plays out with tragic consequences in Genesis 3.

Genesis 3:1-7
¹ The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

² “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. ³ “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

⁴ “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. ⁵ “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

⁶ The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. ⁷ At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

The Temptation
Our reflection from Eden takes a pivotal turn in chapter 3. The serpent, described as the shrewdest of all the wild animals, slithers onto the scene with a deceptive question: "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?" (Genesis 3:1). This was no innocent question. It was designed to introduce doubt into Eve’s mind—doubt about God’s words, intentions, and authority.

Notice the serpent’s strategy: he doesn't outright deny God's command. Instead, he twists it, planting the idea that God may be holding something back from Adam and Eve. The serpent tells her in verse 5, "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." The suggestion is subtle but powerful: What if God isn’t as good as He seems? What if He’s keeping something wonderful from you?

This is the same tactic the enemy uses on us today. How often are we tempted by the thought that God’s way is too restrictive, or we’re missing out if we follow His commands? Temptation often comes disguised as something good—a chance to get ahead, pleasure, or fulfillment—convincing us that what we want is better than what God offers.

Eve was faced with a choice. She could trust God’s command, believing He knew what was best, or she could trust her own desire. In verse 6, we see the tragic moment unfold: “The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it too.”

And I want to point out verse 6 says Adam was with her when all this happened.  Adam is just as guilty as Eve.  He stayed silent while Eve listened to the serpent and chose to disobey God.  And then Adam also actively disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit when Eve offered it to him.  Martin Luther King, Jr. once remarked, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  Sometimes, our sin is not in what we say or do, but in what we don’t say or do.  Adam was silent when Eve trusted Satan and disobeyed God.  Then Adam disobeyed God and ate the fruit too.

Adam and Eve had free will and they chose disobedience. That’s the challenge with free will—it requires us to trust God’s wisdom and love Him, even when we don’t fully understand His reasons.

Genesis 3:8-24
⁸ When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

¹¹ “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

¹² The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this, you are cursed
    more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
    groveling in the dust as long as you live.
¹⁵ And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶ Then he said to the woman,

“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
    and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
    but he will rule over you.”

¹⁷ And to the man he said,

“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree
    whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
    All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
¹⁸ It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
    though you will eat of its grains.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow
    will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
    from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
    and to dust you will return.”

²⁰ Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. ²¹ And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

²² Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” ²³ So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. ²⁴ After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

The Consequences
After Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit, everything changed in an instant. Genesis 3:7 says, "At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves." What was once a state of innocence was replaced by guilt and shame. They become painfully aware of their vulnerability and tried to hide it.  But you can’t hide anything from God.

This is what sin does. It distorts our relationship with God, with others, and even with ourselves. Where there was once openness and trust, now there was shame, fear, and hiding. Adam and Eve’s choice broke their connection with God and corrupted everything else about the world.

And isn’t that how sin works in our own lives? When we make wrong choices, it creates distance—between us and God, between us and others, and even turmoil within our own hearts. We try to cover up our mistakes, hoping no one will notice, but deep down we know things aren’t right.

But even in the midst of this brokenness, God doesn't abandon Adam and Eve. Though they face consequences, God still cares for them.  He gives them clothing made from animal skins (Genesis 3:21). This act foreshadows the ultimate hope we have in Jesus, who would come to cover our sin and restore our broken relationship with God.  God’s grace is always at work, offering hope and restoration. The question for us is: Will we continue hiding, or will we come to God for healing?

A Touching Story
I want to end with a touching story in the Gospel Mark (5:25-34) about a woman who suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding.  Can you imagine?  I had a nose bleed once that wouldn’t stop bleeding for about 15 minutes.  Imaging bleeding for 12 years!  Not only would it be embarrassing, it would make you feel awful to constantly lose blood.  And in Jesus day, given the Jewish ceremonial laws, bleeding would make this woman an unclean outcast from society.  I’m sure she would do everything she could to hide her embarrassing problem.  But then she heard about Jesus—a man they said could heal any sickness.  A man full of love and compassion.  A man with the power and authority of God.  And the woman was faced with a choice:  keep hiding her shame or come to Jesus for healing.  She decided to seek healing from Jesus.

I’m sure this poor woman would have preferred to come see Jesus privately and ask for healing.  But Jesus was constantly surrounded by crowds so it had to be done in front of everyone.  One day, she thought If I could just touch the hem of His robe, it would heal me.  So she got on the hands and knees and crawled through the crowd and reached out and touched the hem of his robe.  And as she did, she was immediately healed. 

Jesus said to the whole crowd, “Who touched my robe?”

Mark 5:33-34 – ³³ Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. ³⁴ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

We have a choice too.  We may not be bleeding like the woman in the story, but we all have sinned.  And our sin makes us feel ashamed.  We don’t want anyone to know.  We keep our dark deeds hidden away.  But we know in our hearts we are broken.  And when we hear about Jesus, a man who can heal our sin and makes us whole and restore our relationship with God, we have a choice.  Do we keep hiding in shame or do we come to Jesus and seek healing?

Today, you have a choice.  Are you going to be like Adam and Eve who sinned and realized they were naked and then tried to hide from God?  Or are you going to be like the women who set aside her pride and crawled through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe?

We all have a choice.  God created us with free will.  How will you use your freedom today?

Stewardship & Responsibility - Reflections from Eden | A Sermon on Genesis 2:15-20 & Matthew 25:15-30

Introduction
Last week in our message, we explored the importance of relationships that the creation story in Genesis 2 emphasizes.  There are so many interesting ideas and themes to explore in the creation story, but today I want to focus on the idea of stewardship and responsibility.  Let’s start by reading part of the Garden of Eden story and consider what it may teach us about stewardship and then we’re going to look at what Jesus said about stewardship.

Genesis 2:15-20
¹⁵ The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. ¹⁶ But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— ¹⁷ except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” ¹⁹ So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. ²⁰ He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

God Created Us to Be Stewards
God places Adam in the Garden of Eden and instructs him to work and take care of it, showing humanity’s role as caretakers of creation.  God also has Adam name all the animals.  In ancient Middle Eastern culture, knowing someone’s name often meant having power or authority over them.  Adam’s job of naming the animals shows his responsibility and authority over nature.  This story reveals part of our purpose in life is to watch over and manage God’s creation.  We are to be stewards.  That is why we can use the resources of creation to help sustain us.  But, that doesn’t mean we abuse creation, because it belongs to God.

A steward, from a biblical Christian perspective, is someone entrusted by God to manage and care for His creation and resources. This includes everything from the environment to personal relationships to our talents and our finances. A steward is called to faithfully use these gifts with responsibility, wisdom, and obedience, reflecting God’s will and purpose. Ultimately, a steward’s role is to honor God by fostering growth, serving others, and making choices that align with God’s plan.  Jesus told a parable to remind us of our purpose as God’s stewards.  The parable is found in Matthew 25:15-30.

Matthew 25:14-18
¹⁴ “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. ¹⁵ He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

¹⁶ “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. ¹⁷ The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. ¹⁸ But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

The Effect of Inflation on Money
I want to point out a basic financial principle about “interest” here, because it answers a question people often have about this parable.  Money doesn’t hold its value.  If someone gave you $100 50 years ago and you put it in a mason jar and buried it in the ground, and then dug today, how much would it be worth?  Still $100, right?  But $100 today doesn’t go as far as it did 50 years ago, right?  Because of inflation, you would need at least $634 today to have as much buying power as $100 had 50 years ago.  So, the two servants who invested their master’s money ensured the money didn’t lose value.  But the money the third fearful servant buried has lost value.

Matthew 25:19-30
¹⁹ “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. ²⁰ The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

²¹ “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

²² “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

²³ “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

²⁴ “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. ²⁵ I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

²⁶ “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, ²⁷ why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

²⁸ “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Which Servant Do You Want To Be?
Jesus’ Parable teaches us the importance of being good stewards and managing the resources God has given us. In the story, a master gives his servants different amounts of money and expects them to use it wisely while he is away.  But this is a story about us.  We are the servants in the story.  God is the Master.  He made us.  He placed us on this earth.  He entrusted to us all the talents and resources we have.  We are responsible for using what God gives us and God expects us to use it all for His glory, not just for our own selfish desires.  And we are to be fruitful with God’s resources.

Jesus’ parable also gives us a warning.  One day, the Master is going to return and ask each and everyone of us to give an account on how we managed God’s resources.  Were we fruitful?
Now which one of the servants do you want to be when the God asks you to give an account?

Stewardship involves every aspect of our lives, because everything we have and all that we are is a gift from God.  Jesus came to call us back to this way of living.  A life where we fulfill our God given purpose to be good stewards who view everything in our lives as a way to honor and glorify God.  Glorify Him with the work you do.  Glorify Him with the money you have.  Glorify Him by the way you lead your family.  Glorify Him by the way you treat you friends, raise your children, serve in your church…  Honor and glorify God as a good steward in every part of your life.

Stewardship Challenge
In my church, we did a special activity to practice what it means to be a good steward.  Each person who came to worship that day received a $5 bill as part of a stewardship challenge. Their task was to pray and ask God how they could use the $5 to bless someone that week. They were free to spend the money however they felt led, but the goal was to make a positive impact in someone else’s life. I encouraged them to be creative, thoughtful, and prayerful in how they choose to use this gift.

What would you do if you received $5?  Would you:
Buy a meal or a coffee for someone in need or surprise a stranger by paying for their order.
Purchase a small gift to give someone (like a greeting card or flowers).
Buy supplies (such as snacks, bottled water, or hygiene products) to give to someone in needs.
Combine your $5 with others to make a larger impact, such as buying groceries for a struggling family.  

Part of the point of this exercise is to make it plain to everyone that the money is not theirs.  It was given to them to be used for a purpose:  to be a blessing to others.  When we think of our own resources--our money, our talents, our time--these also are not our own.  They were given to us by God.  And we are to use them in ways that align with God's values and purposes for our world.  We are to be good steward who use God's resources in ways that honor and glorify Him.  Are you being a goof steward?  How do you need to change to do better?

What is Consecration?

Introduction
Probably one of the best known verses of Scripture in the whole Bible—memorized by people all over the world—is John 3:16. Say it with me.

John 3:16 (NIV)
¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus Himself, the one and only Son of God, spoke these beautiful words that summarize His mission.  If there was one verse that could sum up the whole story of the Bible, John 3:16 would probably do it best.  But most don’t know the full historical context of this verse.  It is grounded in the whole story of Scripture, going all the way back through Genesis.

In the wild and disturbing story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son, Isaac, on Mount Mariah.  Then, as Abraham’s knife is poised to slaughter his son, God stops Abraham and provides a ram to take Isaac’s place. 

In Exodus, we find the Israelites living in slavery in Egypt.  God sends Moses to deliver them, but Pharaoh refuses to let them go.  So God sends 10 plagues to torture the Egyptians and convince them to let God’s people go.  The was blood and frogs and gnats and flies.  All of Egypt’s livestock died.  Then there was boils, hail, locusts, and darkness.  And do you remember the last plague?  It was the most terrible of all…  Every firstborn son not sheltered in a home marked by the blood of a Passover lamb died in a single night.  Every male offspring, from the livestock to the servants and all the way up to Pharoah’s own son, died in that single night.  It was a costly sacrifice brought on by the hard hearted, stubborn Pharoah who would not submit to the God of Israel and let the Israelites go free.

A Day to Remember
It was a day to remember forever.  God does not take death lightly--even the death of those who would be called His enemies.  Jesus said Our Heavenly Father knows and cares if even a single sparrow dies.  How much more when the entire nation of Egypt—every family—loses their first born sons.  It’s devastating.  But that was the cost of that nation’s sin and the cost of Israel’s freedom.

So God wanted His people in Israel to remember that day forever.  He gave them a special way to remember and honor God for saving them. We read about it in Exodus 13:1-5

Exodus 13:1-5
¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.”

³ So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the Lord has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. (Remember, eat no food containing yeast.) ⁴ On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free. ⁵ You must celebrate this event in this month each year after the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (He swore to your ancestors that he would give you this land—a land flowing with milk and honey.)

Passover
This passage is the institution of the Passover Feast.  These instructions were given to the Israelites over 3,000 years ago and they have been celebrated by the Hebrew people every year since then as a way to honor God and thank Him for delivering them from slavery in Egypt.  It was a costly deliverance—the death of every Egyptian first born son.  In recognition, the Hebrew people were to eat a special Passover meal and dedicate back to God the first-born male of every Israelite family—both humans and animals.

The Pagan cultures all around Israel were known to practice human sacrifice.  Whereas God stopped Abraham and would not allow Abraham to actually sacrifice his son, Isaac, other non-Israelite people often did sacrifice their first-born sons (as well as other children).  Child/human sacrifice is one of the reasons the Bible says God drove other nations out of the Promised Land and gave it to the Israelites instead.  Those other nations sacrificed their children, thinking it would please and manipulate their gods into helping them.  But the one true God of the Bible abhors human sacrifice. He forbids anyone to do it.  And if you think how people made these evil sacrifice thinking they could manipulate their gods with them, you get an even deeper sense of how evil they are.  They do not trust God and think they should and can perform some type of magic to control their gods.  But the one true God is sovereign and we cannot and should not try to control Him--especially by taking the life of a child or any other person.

So God didn’t ask the Israelites to actually place their children on the Temple altar and sacrifice them.  Rather, God instructed them to “dedicate” or consecrate them to God.  Since God had purchased the Israelites at the cost of every first born son of Egypt, now the Israelites honored God by consecrating to Him their firstborn sons.

Consecrate
Consecrate is a special word for a special action.  To consecrate means to make or declare something sacred—dedicated formally to a religious or divine purpose.

When something is consecrated, it is dedicated for a holy purpose.  For instance, our altar is consecrated for use in religious services in our church.  It would be out of place to use this altar for just any old purpose.  Right?  We wouldn’t take it home and use it as a breakfast table in our house.  That would be disrespectful and sacrilegious.  That’s not what it was made for; it has been dedicated to be used for Christian worship services.  The only meal we place upon this table is a sacred meal—Holy Communion—dedicated to remember Jesus.  That is what it means to consecrate something.  It is to set it apart for God’s divine purpsoses.

We are here today on Consecration Sunday.  It is a day set aside to consecrate ourselves and our gifts to God for the coming year.  I have asked each of you to complete a Stewardship Survey and to indicate how you will serve God with your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness.  You have had time to prayerfully consider what you will dedicate to the Lord.  We have not required you to dedicate any certain amount.  I’ve instructed you over the last several weeks about the biblical standards, but what you choose to give is a matter of prayer between you and God.  And today you have a chance to consecrate what you have chosen to give. 

In a moment, I will ask each of you to come forward and lay your survey upon the altar.  What you lay upon the altar, you consecrate to God.  It is set apart as holy for the Lord.  Therefore, it should only be used for His glory.  You shouldn’t take it back to use however you please.  It is for God.

John 3:16
But now we come back to John 3:16—that verse we love so much because it makes God’s Word in the Bible so simple.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Who is it who gave?  It is God.

What did He give?  Jesus, His one and only son.

Who did God give Jesus for?  For the whole world.  That includes you and me.

Why did God give us Jesus? 
So that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Just like the Israelites in Exodus, we have been delivered from slavery.
But our slavery wasn’t to a Pharoah in Egypt.  Our slavery was to sin and death.
Our sin separates us from God and corrupts our whole world.  We are spiritually dead.
But, praise God, through Jesus we can be delivered from our slavery.
When we repent of our sin and trust Jesus to save, He does and we have freedom and eternal life.

Won’t you repent and turn to Jesus today?  Ask Jesus to forgive you.  Trust Him to save you.
Dedicate your life to serve Him as Lord.  Please join me in the Wesley Covenant Prayer as a way to consecrate ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Closing – Wesley Covenant Prayer
“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”

The Faithful Servant

Introduction
I’m very proud of all my children.  They’re all responsible, dependable, trustworthy, and mature. Abigail has followed right along in the footsteps of her older siblings.  Now that she is 16 and can drive herself wherever she needs to go—to work, to school—I had no fear that we could trust her to take care of herself while Kelly and I were out of town last week.  She stayed home by herself and I wasn’t worried she would get into trouble, or be unsafe, or throw a wild party while we were gone.  She could be trusted to do good, to be safe, and also to take care of the house and all our pets while we were gone.

Isn’t it nice to have someone you can trust?  Isn’t it nice to be able to trust your children? Or, if you ask someone to to house sit for you while you are out of town, isn’t it nice to know you have someone there you can trust watching over everything--your pets, your plants.

But what if you hired a house sitter and paid them a good wage to take care of your home and then you came back and found your place was trashed because the house sitter threw a big party and tore up the place.  And on top of it all, you dog starved to death because of the sitter’s neglect. How would that make you feel?  What would you do?

Well, that brings us to the Scripture for today’s message – Jesus’ Parable of the Faithful Servant.

Luke 12:42-46
⁴² “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. ⁴³ If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. ⁴⁴ I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. ⁴⁵ But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? ⁴⁶ The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.

The Parable
Jesus was a masterful storyteller.  He taught important spiritual lessons with parables.  The characters and situations in His parables symbolize spiritual truths.  Let explain this parable.

The Master in the story represents Jesus, the Lord of all creation.  The Master is gone away on a trip just as Jesus has gone to be in Heaven.  While the Master (Jesus) is away, He has left the servant in charge of the entire household.  So, we are in this story with Jesus.  Who are is servant?  You are the servant in the story.  You have been left in charge of a household while Jesus is away from earth, in Heaven.

The Household represents those things for which you are responsible in this life.  What is that?   Your time. Your talent. Your money.  Your relationships.  Your witness and all of the things under your care.

Now, we usually assume we own our time, our talent, our money, etc. and we can choose to do with them whatever we please.  But Jesus uses this parable to say:  You are the Master’s servant.  You are Jesus' servant.  And household doesn’t belong to the servant.  All these things you “own” aren’t really yours.  The servant is in charge while the Master is away, but it’s not the servant’s household.  It all still belongs to the Master.

Another word for servant is steward.  Steward is where we get the ward, stewardship.  A steward is one who manages something important on behalf of a master.  We are all stewards of that which Jesus has entrusted to us and how we manage is our stewardship.  And that’s the way we should think about everything in our life.  How can I use my house to serve Jesus?  How can I use my car to serve Jesus?  How can I use my employment to serve the Lord?  How can I use my money to serve God?  How can I use my whole life and everything in it to serve Jesus, the Master (because these things don’t really belong to me)?

The Master (Jesus) left you in charge of some important things until He returns.  Jesus is coming back one day.  He promised He would.  And we don’t know when He’s coming, but He’ll come back when you least expect it.

Eternal Reward
Jesus says if the Master finds a servant has been faithful in His absence, that servant will get a reward.  The Master will put that servant in charge of everything He owns.  Now think of that.  The things we enjoy on earth are all temporary.  They wear out on earth and we can’t take them with us when we die.  But if we are faithful with the things God gives us in this life, He will out us in charge of everything He owns in Eternity.  Think of all Jesus owns…

Cut to Pieces and Banished
Now Jesus, who we usually see as kind and gently and merciful (because He is) also give a stern warning in His parable.  He warns what will happen to an unfaithful servant.  Verse 46, “He will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.”  Notice it says, he will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.
How do you banish someone who has already been cut to pieces?  Apparently, when the Master returns, the rewards and punishments will be eternal.  So you can be cut into pieces and then suffer the pain and terror of that in eternal banishment.

That sound awful!  But if you think back to how you would feel if you hired someone to take care of your house while you were out of town and they neglected it and killed you pets and destroyed your home with a wild party, you may understand the anger of the Master.  And we’re not talking about a mere house.  We are talking about a world and people’s lives. 

Closing
Before Jesus left His disciples, He shared a special meal with them.  In this sacred meal, He showed them what He was doing for them and He told them to share this meal regularly to remember Him.

As we share this sacred meal of Holy Communion, remember Jesus.  Remember that He is Lord and you are His servant.  He has left you in charge of some things.  What are you doing them?

Take some time today to pray over the things Jesus has left in your care.  Think about all the resources He has given you:  your time, your talent, your money, your witness.  How are you using all the things God has given you for His glory?

Stewards of the Land - God's Green Earth, part 1

Grace’s Question

[Click here to listen to the podcast.]
My teenage daughter asked a simple question that sparked this blog.  She asked, “Why don’t preachers ever preach about taking care of the environment?  Why don't Christians talk about it more?”  Her question really got under my skin.  It bugged, because she’s right.  We don’t talk about the environment very much--at least not in the moderately conservative churches I've served.  We mention it and it's part of our social principles (and we recycle), but we don't dwell on it much.  I don't know if many people in my church would label themselves "environmentalist".

Environmentalism is a huge political issue in our times.  Politicians use the subject to garner votes because they either "care for the environment" or they are "not one of those radical tree huggers".  However,  I’m not interested in what politicians or people have to say about the environment.  I want to turn to God’s Word in the Bible.  The Bible is the unchanging Divine Truth of God.  It is the Christian’s foundation for how to believe and live.  What does God’s Word say about taking care of the Earth?  God’s charge to humanity to take care of His creation goes all the way back to the beginning of time.

Genesis 1:26-28

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created human beings in his own image.

    In the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them.

²⁸ Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

Stewards of the Land

God’s charge to humanity to take care of His creation goes all the way back to the beginning of time.  Some people zero in on the phrase in verse 26 that says people will "reign over" the rest of creation.  And some have used this as an excuse for people to do whatever they please to the earth.  But a more accurate understanding is reflected by the phrase, "Fill the earth and govern it."  A good governor does not use the governed for their own selfish benefit.  A good governor does what is best for the governed--protecting and caring for them.  God charged humanity to be stewards of the earth.  What is a steward?

A steward is a person who manages or looks after another person’s property.  This is the core of what a Christian must understand when it comes to how we treat the earth.  Actually, it’s at the core of every part of life, not just the environment.  It is the recognition that the earth does not belong to us.  It belongs to God!  Psalm 24:1 – “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.”

Suppose a friend owns a mansion on the beach and says, “I want you to go down to Florida and enjoy a week’s vacation—free of charge—in my mansion on the beach!”  And they hand you the keys. Hopefully, you would be very grateful and you would go have a good time, but wouldn’t you also be very careful to take care of your friend’s house?  You wouldn't want to disrespect their property or damage it in any way so as damage your relationship with your friend.  Well, God has handed us the keys to His earth.  And He’s not just a friend.  He’s God.  He wants us to enjoy His earth, but we shouldn't do anything to damage His earth in a way that damages our relationship with God.

Avatar

After playing in the snow yesterday, my kids came inside to get warm and they watched the movie, “Avatar”.  Have you seen this movie?  It’s a spectacular 3D movie directed by James Cameron.  "Avatar" was noted at it’s release for the whopping $237 million it cost to make (which I think was a record at the time).  The story-line is a stereotypical summary of the modern, secular (NOT Christian) worldview of environmentalism.  (And this may be why evangelical preachers don’t preach about environmentalism very much).  In the movie, an evil alliance between the military and a big business corporation is stripping the resources of a futuristic planet, Pandora.  The a group of environmental friendly scientist are studyong the planet and oppose military/industrialists who are greedy and ignorant.  The even purer native Pandoran aliens are idealized as they worship nature as their god.  The trees and plants and animals are sacred and the planet is alive.  And it's no coincidence the story is portrayed this way; it's basically the underlying worldview pop-environmentalists of our age.  It's mysterious, intriguing, simplistic, and it attracts a large following in our age.

The modern, secular environmentalist movement often treats nature as if it were divine.  They sometimes even call her “Mother Earth”.  Environmentalists wrap their arm around science and say, “See!  Science is on our side too!”  Meanwhile, they simplistically romanticize Mother Nature and turn her into their goddess.  The plants and birds and trees are all interconnected and spiritual and we need to love nature (or some would even say worship her).  This is what turns many Christians and more rationally minded people off to the label “environmentalist”.

God Cares About the Earth

If we truly care about God’s Green Earth and want to take care of the environment, we’ve got to get back to God’s plan!  The earth is very important, but it is not god.  Tree frogs in the Amazon rain forest are very important, but they are not as important as people.  We’ve got to be very, very careful that we don’t make nature into an idol we bow down to worship in our hearts and through our worldly philosophies.

At the same time, we’ve got to recognize that humanity is full of sin.  It is part of humanity's fallen, sinful nature that we selfishly think we are the only things that matter on this Earth.  Our selfish greed leads us to think we can use the earth’s resources however we want, even if it destroys the environment.  But the earth is not ours to use and abuse however we want.  The earth belong to God and the Lord allows us to use and enjoy His earth, but we must take care of it.

"But what can we do?"  Taking care of the earth is more than a philosophical debate.  What are some practical things you can undertake to do your part in taking care of the environment?  Perhaps you think I might say, "Reduce, reuse, and recycle!"  (That's a popular slogan these days for people who want to take care of the environment.)  And there's nothing wrong with those actions in and of themselves; they can be helpful.  But if we really want to make a difference, we've got to go deeper--all the way to the core.

The Most Important Thing – Repent

The most important thing you can do:  You must ask God’s forgiveness for rejecting His Lordship, repent of your sin, and follow Jesus Christ.  Please don't think these cliches that a preacher must say.  It is the very core of the what we must do.  You see, it's all about who's Lord.  If Jesus (God) is Lord and the earth belongs to Him, we must use it in ways of which He approves.  Jesus must be Lord of your life.  If you really want to make a real difference, you’ve got to change your worldview.  Recycling cans or protesting to save the whales just won’t cut it.  If humanity comes before God, then all is lost.  We will always do what we selfishly want to do regardless of what's best for the earth.  And if you treat nature as if it is god, it cannot deliver and you will be spiritually bankrupt.

When we accept the Jesus is Lord, and seek to worship and serve him, we find that middle road that leads us to truly love and care for all creation.  We will resist the extreme that worships nature and created things, elevating them to a status they were never designed to hold (and are not able to hold).  Neither will we abuse nature , thinking we can use it however we please, because we will strive to be the good stewards God created us to be.  We will know that God loves His creation and we will love it too, but love it for what it really is and not some romantic fantasy we've created in our own mind. 

Now what should you do to take care of God’s world?
Once you've got your heart right with God, is there anything else you can do to help others take care of the world?  Yes!  What did Jesus tell us to do?  He said, "Reduce, reuse, and recycle!" Wait? What? No! No!  He didn't say that!  Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of Jesus Christ, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."  You see, you’ve got to change people’s hearts and minds.  Isn't it interesting, with all the problems we face in our world--poverty, slavery, racism, sexism, addiction, trashing the environment, and so much more, Jesus never instructed his disciples to go stamp out these problems?  He said, "Make disciples..." because he knew something we're so slow to understand.  If you only attack the symptoms of brokenness in our world, you will never really solve them because the real problem is deeper.  It's in our hearts.  We are rebels. We've turned our back on God.  We want things our own way.  And our own way leads to all these issues--slavery, racism, sexism, addiction, trashing the environment, etc.  Win people's hearts for God and it will lead true healing.

Save the Planet
God’s ultimate goal is to redeem and restore all of creation.  People get saved, but so does the whole planet.  God’s green earth will be perfect once more, as it was in the beginning.  This is the whole message of the Bible!  There will be a New Heaven and a New Earth!  So, God’s Green Earth is not disposable and it’s not something we are allowed to misuse and abuse for our own selfish pleasure.  If you've been doing that, it's a symptom you're heart is still not really right with God.  It's time to wake up and make a change.  We are to be good stewards who care for God’s land.  “The Earth is the Lord’s and all there in.  You may make use of it in your need, but you shall not abuse it in your greed.” (Sandra Richter, “Christians and Creation Care: Seven Minute Seminary”)  

Perhaps today is the day you bow your head in prayer and ask for God's forgiveness.  Perhaps today is the day you decide to follow Jesus as your true Lord, to let Him truly be in charge of your life.  Perhaps you've already done that before, maybe many years ago; but today, you realize you have not been a very faithful steward of the earth.  Then now is the time to repent and let the Jesus be the Lord of your life in this area too.  Christ came to save you as a whole person and that includes every area of your life.  When you realize any area out of accord with his will, you must turn it over to him and seek the Holy Spirit's help in following Him.  I invite you to do so right now.