My friend Brian shared an interesting vignette about a Romanian village. Thousands of fertile acres surround the town yet the people cultivate only small strips to grow what they can eat. Decades of communist oppression and the lack of modern farm equipment rob these wonderful people of vision. Their concept of what they can attain in the future is shaped by what they could not do in the past.
I wonder how many of us have a false estimate of what God can do in our lives. We look at sin that seems unbeatable. We think of hardships that occur when we’ve tried to follow God or the unfair treatment we’ve received at the hands of those who misrepresent His authority. Our Father wants to bless us with abundant fruit but we only give Him a small strip on which to plant.
Meditation
Matthew 25:24,25—Then the man who had received the one talent came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”
The man who hid his talent was probably not a bad guy. He was most likely an ordinary person like you or I. But somewhere along the way of life he got lost. He set his eyes on the perceived hardness of his master and let fear become his guiding plight. Just as the villagers cannot see the possibility of plantations, he could not see the reality of succeeding in business. Consequently, he lost the blessing.
Friend, Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John
Inspiration
