Faithful – Man as Instructor
For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. … For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. - Matthew 25:14-15, 29-30 ESV
In 1803, pastor Matthias Burnet laid down a challenge to free men in America:
Finally, ye Freemen, all of every class whose high prerogative it is, to raise up, or pull down, to invest with office and authority, or to withhold them, and in whose power it is to save or destroy your country, consider well the important trust and distinguishing privileges which God and nature have put into your hands. To God and posterity you are accountable for them. … Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights, and prostrating those institutions which our fathers delivered to you as a sacred palladium, and which by the blessing of God have been peculiarly beneficial to the order, peace and prosperity of this State[.]
In His final hours, our Lord laid down some strong challenges as well. One came in the form of the Parable of the Talents. In the parable, a master entrusted his servants with the stewardship of varying amounts of money based on his assessment of them. The focus of this timeless lesson is not so much what the servants received but what they did with what was entrusted to them. Those who stewarded well were graciously rewarded with greater authority and the affirmation of the master. However, one servant squandered the opportunity to invest what was handed to him. When that servant was called to account, he lost everything.
Men, we have been entrusted with some of the greatest earthly freedom the world has ever known here in the United States of America. From our nation’s very beginnings, courageous men have pledged and given their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for this freedom. That has continued for generations, and I have certainly witnessed men who have made tremendous sacrifices for those freedoms during my service in the U.S. military.
As the Lord put it: “Where much is given, much is required.” We ought to steward the freedoms with which we have been entrusted well and communicate our godly heritage to our children and grandchildren. We should pray that they would come to know and celebrate God’s hand of blessing on our nation and its founding and pass it on to their descendants.
In his first inaugural address on January 20, 1981, President Ronald Reagan shared a brief but poignant warning from Dr. Joseph Warren, a Founding Father and president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress:
Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of. On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important question upon which rest the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.
May we act worthy of ourselves and be faithful stewards of the freedom God has entrusted to us. During this Independence Day week, purposefully share stories with your family about the hand of God in our nation’s history. And may you be found actively investing in this grand experiment of freedom called America that has been and, by the grace of God, can continue to be a blessing to the world!
- As we celebrate our nation’s 247th birthday this week, take time as a family to focus on stories of America’s godly heritage. Check out our Make the Most resource, “Faith of Our Fathers: Signers of the Declaration of Independence.”
- Going forward, what are some ways you can function faithfully as an instructor in sharing our nation’s story with your children and grandchildren?
- Pray for God’s help in being a faithful steward of the freedom we have been entrusted with in America.
For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. … For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. - Matthew 25:14-15, 29-30 ESV
In 1803, pastor Matthias Burnet laid down a challenge to free men in America:
Finally, ye Freemen, all of every class whose high prerogative it is, to raise up, or pull down, to invest with office and authority, or to withhold them, and in whose power it is to save or destroy your country, consider well the important trust and distinguishing privileges which God and nature have put into your hands. To God and posterity you are accountable for them. … Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights, and prostrating those institutions which our fathers delivered to you as a sacred palladium, and which by the blessing of God have been peculiarly beneficial to the order, peace and prosperity of this State[.]
In His final hours, our Lord laid down some strong challenges as well. One came in the form of the Parable of the Talents. In the parable, a master entrusted his servants with the stewardship of varying amounts of money based on his assessment of them. The focus of this timeless lesson is not so much what the servants received but what they did with what was entrusted to them. Those who stewarded well were graciously rewarded with greater authority and the affirmation of the master. However, one servant squandered the opportunity to invest what was handed to him. When that servant was called to account, he lost everything.
Men, we have been entrusted with some of the greatest earthly freedom the world has ever known here in the United States of America. From our nation’s very beginnings, courageous men have pledged and given their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for this freedom. That has continued for generations, and I have certainly witnessed men who have made tremendous sacrifices for those freedoms during my service in the U.S. military.
As the Lord put it: “Where much is given, much is required.” We ought to steward the freedoms with which we have been entrusted well and communicate our godly heritage to our children and grandchildren. We should pray that they would come to know and celebrate God’s hand of blessing on our nation and its founding and pass it on to their descendants.
In his first inaugural address on January 20, 1981, President Ronald Reagan shared a brief but poignant warning from Dr. Joseph Warren, a Founding Father and president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress:
Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of. On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important question upon which rest the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.
May we act worthy of ourselves and be faithful stewards of the freedom God has entrusted to us. During this Independence Day week, purposefully share stories with your family about the hand of God in our nation’s history. And may you be found actively investing in this grand experiment of freedom called America that has been and, by the grace of God, can continue to be a blessing to the world!
- As we celebrate our nation’s 247th birthday this week, take time as a family to focus on stories of America’s godly heritage. Check out our Make the Most resource, “Faith of Our Fathers: Signers of the Declaration of Independence.”
- Going forward, what are some ways you can function faithfully as an instructor in sharing our nation’s story with your children and grandchildren?
- Pray for God’s help in being a faithful steward of the freedom we have been entrusted with in America.