Daily Inspiration

“Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.” —Luke 16:1-8

We are stewards who have squandered our Master’s property, and one day we will be called to make a full account of our actions. We’ve been given the gift of faith, a gift which cannot be earned, yet faith without works is dead. We do not work our way into heaven, for only Christ Jesus is the Door. But, by the grace of God, we’re given a chance to atone, here, in this place, for the property we have squandered.

The Master once took away my position, and I was not strong enough to dig, and was too ashamed to beg. There is but one Authority we must listen to; let no one lead you astray when it comes to doing good works.

Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 7:21–23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

John 6:28–29 – “Then they inquired, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus replied, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.’”

John 14:12 – “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”

John 15:8 – “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

This may be the best evidence for the importance of our works on earth:

Matthew 25:31–46 – “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

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