Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell

"The God of Power” (Part 5)
The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God." – Luke 1:35

“For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” – Matthew 25:29

This past week we have been exploring the words that the angel spoke to Mary—revealing God’s Will and plan to bring salvation to the world. Those words declared God’s power—the same power that not only created the world but the same power that can transform a life. This power has the ability to change the way we think…speak…act…and lastly, it is the power to literally, CHANGE OUR WORLD!!

Read Matthew chapter 25 and this paragraph will make a bit more sense. In it, we are told that “we are given enormous wealth! If we can make this parable (Matthew 25:14-30) slightly allegorical, then the shocking sum of money—think millions of dollars—given to the servants is a symbol of the importance of the kingdom of God. Just like the servants, we are now stewards of God’s incredible kingdom and we have the responsibility to extend God’s rule. We do this by following the way of the Kingdom—loving God and loving our neighbor.”

Matthew, chapter 25 is one of my favorite from his Gospel. And I think it has to do with this very fact—that we have been given the keys to the Kingdom and what we do with them can change our world!

I remember the first time getting a key to the house. You would have thought I was given a hundred dollars—and in a way I was. Keys open doors! They allow you free and safe passage into various locations. Without a key the only other way to enter (a locked door) is by knocking it down and destroying it in the process. I also remember getting a key to the bank where I worked!! When I became the afternoon supervisor it was my responsibility to make sure everything was locked safe and secure. There were a number of times that when I locked the vault for the night—there was well over $500,000 in cash in that particular vault!
The same can be said when I received my own “car key.” It opened up an entirely new world. It gave me a freedom that I previously did not know or have. Being able to drive on my own without adult supervision expanded my world in ways that were (to my teenage mind) almost unimaginable!
However, with both came some enormous responsibilities. Those keys were intended to be used by me to open (and lock) the doors to places that were not necessarily mine. The house I lived in with my mom was my house—but it was in her name so she had the ultimate responsibility for what was in it! The key to the bank (and to the vault) belonged to the bank! To misuse that key could have not only cost me my job—but it could have had some other very unpleasant consequences as well!
We have been given the “Christmas” message as a means to tell people that Jesus is indeed the Lord and Savior! We easily forget that the Christmas story is found in the books of Matthew and Luke—two books of the “Gospels” (i.e. “Good News”) and as such we have been given the responsibility to preach this gospel message! A very important key—one that can open doors and take us places that before seemed almost too impossible to believe.
Take “joy” in the fact that God has placed into our hands this wonderful responsibility!! Don’t be like the one who “hid” what the Master had given him. Use your gift(s) and God’s power wisely—use them to open doors for the hurting, the lost, and the needy! Remember—we have all been there ourselves!
Pastor J. T. Carnell stor Carnell, McAlester, OK