“But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48
My parents often reminded us how blessed we were, as a family. They emphasized the importance of, what I would now term, the “giving back and paying forward” of things. My dad’s mantra, when I was feeling unmotivated or put-upon-pouty was “to whom much is given, much is expected.” When I, invariably, rolled my eyes or snorted, my mom would remind me that this was our way of “giving love-gifts to Jesus.” I liked mom’s take on that much better! Predictably, then, the younger version of me was rather fixated on this passage from Luke (and on the ‘Parable of the Talents’, in Matthew 25, as well). The ‘punishment’ angle in both made me pay especially close attention (beatings and/or joining a crew of wailing, teeth-gnashers is a powerful flipside to mom’s ‘love-gift’ angle).
When we were raising our sons, I saw the same wheels turning for them—when Linda or I read this passage aloud. Once, outa the blue, our oldest came to me in tears; he was worried that God would be beating him for not “doing enough for people.” In one of my more brilliant dad-joke moments, I said to him, “Now that’s a bad yoke, huh?!” Then, in one of my more brilliant, Christian-parenting moments, I recited Matthew 11:29-30, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” What I told him next, I have taken to heart since then. “From those God expects much from, he gives and supports much.”
With my kids now grown and Linda, my mom and my dad all in heaven, my ‘yoke-joke’ has become a frequent personal mantra. Especially in dark times or when willing hands and hearts (to assist on a project) are few or far between, it helps me to focus and motivate. To stay childlike in focus, on the “love gifts I work to give to Jesus” and marvel at the exponential support and joy sent back my way, by my ever-mindful, generous and gracious God.
Submitted by Chaplain John Holzhüter
Prayer Jesus, thank you for loving me, even when I’m more childish than child-like. Thank you for trusting me to shine Your light where it’s needed. Thank you for lightening my load, in times when the world’s weight seems heavier than my shoulders can bear.