For those of us of a certain age that grew up watching Spider-man; we are familiar with the words of wisdom that Uncle Ben imparts on Peter Parker: “With great power comes great responsibility.” I often wondered if Uncle Ben was a man of faith? His words seem to reflect the words of Christ found in Luke 12:48b; “… From everyone to whom much has been given, much more will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” The under lying message is that we are held responsible for what we have, or to put it another way if we are blessed with wisdom, wealth or talent, we are called to use that which has been given to us to glorify God and help others.
We too often fall into the trap of believing that those words only apply to the wealthy in our midst, however the reality is we have all been richly blessed. Which one of us hasn’t received the munificent grace of God or the gifts of the Spirit? Did not Christ die on the cross for all of us? 1 Peter 4:10 reminds us to “serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have, it is all given to you by the Lord above. Each of us should be asking ourselves for the wisdom to use our gifts to glorify the Kingdom of Heaven.
So much has been given to us, and it is God’s desire that we use our gifts to advance his Kingdom and proclaim the Good News. This Lenten season let us remember that we are living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) and all that we have been blessed with have been given so that we can fulfill His will. So, during this season of Lent may each of us give freely from all that the Lord has freely given us.
John Sundquist, Executive Director of Lutheran Men in Mission
Prayer: Blessed Lord; giver of all things. Open our hearts to that we hear your Word. Open our eyes that we may see the needs of the world around us, great and small. Open our minds that we may receive your wisdom. Free us from our own selfishness that we may be give of the rich and wonderful blessings you have given us. To you be the glory, today and always! Amen.
