My Gift...

I have been told God has gifted me with a keen discernment of His Truth! Often this "gift" causes great pain and hurt in my life and the lives of those I love. As this reality has become front and center in my life, I prayed God would reveal to me how I need to change to mold myself into the Truth I am trying to communicate. As I read Luke this morning, I believe He answered my question. I would like to attempt to share what I believe He told me in red!



The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16:1-9)

Jesus told His disciples...

"There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. The Lord gifted me with His Truth and I have used it to hurt people!"



So he called him in and asked him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot manage any longer."

God called to me and opened my eyes to see I was managing His Kingdom and His truth unwisely, with harshness and a lack of grace and love. I can not manage His Truth this way any longer.



The manager said to himself, "What shall I do, since my Master is taking the mangagement away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg." I asked myself, if I can no longer speak His Truth in this way, what option do I have? I don't know how to use this gift and I am ashamed of the damage I have done.



"I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes." God wants to use this parable to tell me what to do now that I no longer can share God's Truth harshly with others. If I focus all my energies on following the Truth He reveals in this passage, my relationships will be healed and restored.



And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, "How much do you owe my master?" And he said, "A hundred measures of oil." And he said to him, "Take your bill and sit down quickly and write fifty." Then he said to another, "And how much do you owe?" And he said, "A hundred measures of wheat." He said to him, "Take your bill, and write eighty." I examined how I hurt my loved ones. I began to see how showing them God's grace, mercy and love would minister to their hearts and restore healing to our relationships.



And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he has acted shrewdly (wisely); for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. God has offered me His praise if I can act wisely and do this. I can act wisely by extending grace, mercy and love. The nonbelievers I know do this better than me.



And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness (worldly wealth), so that when it fails, they will recieve you into the eternal dwellings. God seeks to give me permission to love others the way THEY need to be loved, even if they are asking to be loved in a way that is clearly (to me) not of God or True. I am NOT loving them and/or revealing HIS TRUTH in the midst of their deceit and falsehoods by telling them, trying to show them, or demanding they acknowledge the deceit. God does not desire for me to simply tell people their approach or beliefs are wrong (or as I often see, not built on truth). God designed people to need to be loved and gently guided as they test their approach and beliefs themselves. If their approach/beliefs are not true (as I may know that I know that I know), God will take care of allowing their methods to fail. It will be his Law of Truth that will test their inner beliefs. I have to LOVE people enough and TRUST God enough to let Him use their experiences with failure to create within them a deeper desire to find and know Him.


The other way I can reveal His Truth to others is to live it and model it. There are so many scriptures that tell me this is the most effective way at guiding them. My life will lead others who thirst for Truth to His waters which TRULY quench and satisfy. My prayers are with you today...

...that you would seek Christ with all your heart so that He can speak His Truth deeply to your soul...

...that my life would guide you to the well of Living and True waters...

...that God would open your eyes and hearts to draw close to Him so that with Him, you can TEST His Truths... because they will not fail. (He may even be able to teach you HOW to use the gifts He has given you.)