Transcript
Have you ever lost your job? Have you ever had the sack? And then you’ve got this horrible moment of going, “What am I going to do next?” In today’s parable, this steward gets the sack. He knows that he’s got only a last chance to do something good to think about his future. So, the steward is very shrewd and goes around to all his master’s debtors and meets with them one-on-one and halves their debts. So he undermines the master but he sets himself up for the next phase of life, he sets himself up for a new job. Now, this sounds completely unfair, why should we listen to the shrewd manager who’s just really done the wrong thing, something quite dishonest? Like what is there to learn from that? Well, it’s simply this. This life is not forever. We know that we cannot get out of this world alive. And so the challenge is to be like this shrewd steward and orientate our whole lives toward the next life. So what can we do now to prepare ourselves for the next life? Let me give you three things really quick. Number one, pray. Talk to God, communicate with God. All you need to pray is faith, you don’t need theological language. Just the faith that God is listening and begin that communication with God. Number two, forgive. Is there someone in your life that you haven’t forgiven? Something that you’re still harboring and hanging on to? Take a moment to forgive those who have sinned against you. It’s incredibly powerful. It’s like lifting a burden off your shoulders. Forgive people, it’s good for you now and it’s good for you into eternity. And the last thing is to love. Love the people in your lives, love your children and your grandchildren and your parents. Take a moment right now to text someone you love and say, “Hey, I appreciate you so much. I love having you in my life. You are great.” Let’s live this life with an eye on the next life and orientate ourselves to an eternity with God.