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Learning the Jesus Way of LifeSample

Learning the Jesus Way of Life

DAY 36 OF 40

Living for the Future

Pray: Jesus, give me the faith to go where you go, do what you do, trust what you say, and love how you love. Today, I commit to following you. Amen.

Yesterday, we talked about how not even the Son knows the exact moment or hour the Father has chosen for His return. While that may seem confusing, it’s an opportunity to embrace the beautiful fact that while we will never understand God fully, we can know Him truly.

On the heels of His explanation of what the end of everything will be like, Jesus tells a series of three parables teaching us why the way we live now matters.

To be super clear, it’s not the good things we do that save us. It is only by grace we are saved through faith. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we’ve done.

What we have to wrap our minds around is that Jesus’ vision of heaven is not a bunch of disembodied forms floating and singing worship songs in space. No, His vision is of a New World—a place where God dwells with His people, and we rule and reign alongside Him. It’s Eden restored. It’s life as it was always intended to be.

Ruling and reigning with Jesus requires prep work, though. Think about it like this: If someone told you right now that you would one day be the President of the United States, what would you do? (Assuming they were completely correct.) You probably wouldn’t keep lying on your couch, binging political thrillers. You’d probably start working on a PhD, developing diplomatic skills, and taking your mental, emotional, and physical health more seriously. You’d figure out what’s going on in the world and where you stand on the major issues in your nation. Hopefully, you’d pray a lot because you understand the gravity of the job and the authority you will be given.

When we receive the gift of God’s grace by placing our faith in Jesus and His work on our behalf, we become members of God’s family. And if your Dad is the King, that makes you a future ruler. So, just in case you haven’t figured it out, one day, you will have a job so much more important than being the President of the United States. You will be ruling alongside Jesus in the New World. This is true of every follower of Jesus.

So why is it that so few of us live like we are getting ready to rule? It’s like we don’t know who we really are. So Jesus reminds us. The parables He tells cut through our complacency and show us the difference between those of us who are getting ready to rule and those of us who have missed the point.

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’” Matthew 25:1–6 NIV

By the time the bridegroom arrived, the foolish group had run out of oil, so they had to scramble at the last minute to get some more. The wise group was prepared. They were there when the bridegroom showed up, and they were welcomed into the wedding banquet. When the foolish group finally got their oil and came back to where the bridegroom was, it was too late. They missed their chance and were left out of the party.

What is this parable about? Jesus is the bridegroom. He’s coming back, and when He does, all of heaven is coming with Him. The greatest party in history will begin, and everyone who was ready for Him will be invited in. But those who aren’t ready for Him will be left out. They will miss the moment.

So what’s the lesson? Be ready, so you don’t have to get ready. We don’t know when Jesus will return, so the wisest thing we can do is devote ourselves to Him now. Tomorrow is not promised. Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus, and prepare yourself for the long haul.

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” Matthew 25:14–18 NIV

Maybe you have heard this story before. The servants who received five and two bags of gold double their master’s investment and are praised for their faithfulness. But, the man who received one bag never did anything with the money and was reprimanded intensely. The little he had was taken away and given to a more faithful servant.

The thing not to miss in this story is the intentional use of the word “faithful,” because it would be really easy to mentally swap it out for a word like “successful” or “capable.” But that is not what this story is about. It’s not about two guys who were successful in this life and one who never got his career off the ground. It’s not about two guys who were naturally good with money and capable of making brilliant investments and one guy who didn’t have that skill set. Each person was given an amount based on their ability to handle it. It’s about two guys who acted faithfully and one who did not. The unfaithful servant isn’t getting called out for the amount of money he did or didn’t make. He got called out because he didn’t do anything with what he was given.

What does that mean for us? All of us have been created by God with gifts and talents that we are meant to use for a specific purpose. Sin isn’t just what we call it when we do bad things. Sin is what we call it when we fail to do good things. The word sin is an archery term that literally means to miss the mark. Sometimes we miss the mark because we’re aiming at the wrong target. And sometimes, we miss the mark because we never even take a shot.

What gifts has God given you? How are you using them? Are you using them to honor God and serve others? Are you using them to prop yourself up and push others down? Or, are you so afraid of getting it wrong that you aren’t using them at all?

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’” Matthew 25:24–25 NIV

The unfaithful servant let his fear of the master drive him to bury his gold in the ground. We don’t have to be ruled by that same fear. Because we know the character and nature of our Master.

He’s compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loyal love, but He doesn’t leave the guilty unpunished; He doesn’t turn a blind eye to injustice. If we live in a way that ignores injustice, or we simply don’t do anything to stop it, we’ve missed the mark of faithfulness. But, when we use what we’ve been given to honor Him and serve others, we create a life that is faithful and true—a life that looks like love and will be celebrated by a God who is love.

And that leads us to the last parable.

“All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” Matthew 25:32–36 NIV

Take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. That’s the reward. Ruling and reigning in God’s kingdom alongside Jesus.

So, how do we gain that reward? By faith. We trust that Jesus is who He said He was and did what He said He’d do. Here’s what we can’t miss, though. This faith is more than simply agreeing with an idea. This faith is a commitment to a person; It’s trust, based on evidence, that produces obedience. And obedience to Jesus is the evidence of our trust in Jesus. A living faith is a visible faith.

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. James 2:17–18 NIV

Application: As you read through this chapter, ask yourself: What about these parables is convicting or challenging? What makes sense and what doesn’t? Then, take some time to assess how you are getting ready for heaven—because how you live every moment matters. Are you ready for Jesus’ return? Are you using the gifts you’ve been given for the glory of God and the good of others? And finally, is your faith visible? Ask God to keep shaping you, guiding you, directing you, and preparing you for heaven.

Day 35Day 37

About this Plan

Learning the Jesus Way of Life

When Jesus stepped onto the stage of history, He didn’t set out with the goal of simply starting a new religion. He came to introduce a whole new way of life defined by loving God with all we are and loving others as He has loved us. In this Plan, we will journey through Matthew’s Gospel with the purpose of making Jesus’ way of life, our way of life.

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We would like to thank Switch, a ministry of Life.Church, for providing this Plan. For more information, please visit: www.life.church