The Report Card

Things never change with people unless they change themselves. When I was younger in my school days, I was a talker. When I say that I was a talker, I don't mean that I talked most of the time, I talked all the time. I have the report cards to prove it. They had check marks all across them for "excessive talking". The teachers loved me and my parents loved me, but you know they were all thinking, "when will he ever be quiet?" Can you imagine if God had a report card on us in Heaven? Now, hear me on this. I don't mean that there is a works report card and you flunked or a report card that determines anything that you do or do not get in Heaven. In Matthew 25, Jesus gave a parable of the master and his servants. The master gave his servants each a talent, one he gave five, one he gave two, and another he gave one. The master went on a long journey and left these talents in the care of these servants. The story ends with the master returning home to see a report of what they had done. The first two had doubled what the master had given them and he rewarded them by saying, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' But there was one servant whose report card did not show a passing grade. The servant hid his masters' money. Where is the problem here? The master did not comfort him and say, 'well…maybe next time.' The master said to him, 'you wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Needless to say, the servant received a failing grade from the teacher. What is the lesson from Christ on this subject? The lesson learned is that we are to trust the master no matter what. God wants us to live a life abundantly but we have to first learn the lesson and receive a passing grade. If you can not trust God then how or rather why would He trust you with His kingdom? My prayer is when I get to heaven there is a report card that has check marks across it that says "excessive giver". Our report card would not only report our grade on giving but our grade of being Christ like. If you died and went to Heaven this very moment, what would your grade be? Would you pass with flying colors or would you see the grade and wonder what you could do better? Imagine getting to Heaven and being received in the arms of our Lord with Him saying, "well done, good and faithful servant." Earlier, I had mentioned that things don't change unless people change, God is constantly molding us into the men and women of God that He has called us to be. We have the free will to follow His molding or to not follow His molding. We can expect the same things in life if we decide to remain the same and not change. It's time for a change in our lives, it's time for a rededication in our lives, it's time for rejuvenation in our lives, and it's time for a refining moment in our lives! Get ready to be moved. Don't sit knowing that God is changing things in your life.