Bible Reading – Matthew 25:14-39
Dear friend, have you ever wondered how precious your life is? An Indian sage, popularly known as Sadhu Sundar Singh, had a very close relationship with Jesus. He wrote his conversation with Jesus in a book called “At the Master’s Feet”. In one conversation, Jesus narrated the below story to explain to Sadhu the preciousness of human life.
A hunter who, while wandering in the jungle, picked up some pretty stones on the back of the stream. Unaware of their value, he used them one by one in his sling to shoot at the birds seated on the trees near the river, and so one by one the stones fell into the water and were lost. With one still in his hand, he returned to the city. As he passed along the shops, a jeweler caught sight of the stone and told the hunter it was not an ordinary stone but a precious diamond for which he could get thousands of dollars. When the hunter heard this, he cried and said, “I did not know their value and have been using many of these diamonds to shoot at the birds.”
Jesus went on and explained to Sadhu Sundar Singh the preciousness of our life. Each day given to us is more precious than the diamond. One way to spend our lives is by chasing the fleeting desires of this world. We can keep chasing money, positions, honor, or anything else. They never satisfy our hearts but increase disappointments and create worthless feelings, when we do not get what we expect from life.
In another way, we can choose to lead our life according to God’s expectations. If we do that when we finish our journey on earth and go to heaven, Jesus will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” Our hearts will be satisfied and fulfilled only if we hear these words from God. None of the pleasures and riches of this world will be able to fulfill our hearts except the appreciation from God himself.
Who is our God?
Jesus does not say we should not have any desires or goals in this world. But we need to decide who is the God of our life. For example, if money is our focus and our God, then our hearts will focus only on money. Will use God as a channel to get more money. We will focus our prayers on getting more money.
On the other hand, if Jesus is our God, then we will put all our focus to satisfy His will. We will go to His presence to make important decisions. We will decide on life priorities with guidance from God. He will be the center of focus in our life. Rest becomes secondary.
Wasted Days
The days that were wasted on fulfilling the desires of the world are equivalent to the diamonds, which were used as a stone to shoot the bird. As the diamonds fell on the river and disappeared, our wasted days in life will also disappear in the past. We could never recover them again. We may not be able to realize the importance of the time given to us in life unless we understand its value. Moses Prayed to God, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.“
When the sun rises in a day, it’s another precious opportunity given to us. It’s our choice to make the best use of it or throw it away as the hunter did. Let’s evaluate our life when the sun sets. Did we make the best use of the day, or is it another day thrown away?
Your Life is Precious
There is only one precious life. Please do not spend your life thinking about things that were lost. Let your past not create cyclic hurts, bitterness, and anxieties of tomorrow. Instead, ask God how to live your life carefully. How to make the right choices and decisions? How to follow Him? It’s better to ask God what he wants us to do rather than tell him what we want from him. Psalmist wrote, “Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth!”
Dear friend, as you read, may the Holy Spirit speak to you gently. May He reveal to you how precious you are in the sight of God. He loves you as you are.
None of us can go hopeless till the God of Hope is within us. Our life can not remain broken and filled with depressed feelings. We cannot continuously fill our thoughts with anxiety and fear about tomorrow when we know we are on the journey towards heaven, where there is no pain or sorrow.
Jesus said, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” The world includes you and me. God sacrificed his only son, Jesus Christ, to redeem you and me from all our past mistakes. If we are not precious to God, why would He allow His son to suffer on our behalf?
Shall we turn our eyes towards Jesus? Let’s ask Him to speak to us once again. Please pray the below prayer in your own words. We are praying along with you.
Dear Jesus, You have given a one precious life. Each day of my life is a precious diamond. From sunrise to sunset, let my thoughts be focused on you. Let the anxieties of the world not keep me bogged down on various worries. Help me live a life worthy of your name. You alone are my God and savior. None of the desires of the world are worthy to compare against the great hope you have for me. Please forgive all my past. Wash me and make me your precious child. I want to follow you. In Jesus’s mighty name, I pray. Amen.