Daily Devotional for Tuesday, April 21

The Assignment to the Servants

“And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come,” Luke 19:13.

When my children were young, we desperately sought ways to occupy their time and attention when we went on road trips. We found that they loved a recorded story time called Adventures in Odyssey. We downloaded every episode we could get our hands on and put their headphones on them. It was beautiful, they were occupied for hours at a time in between potty breaks and meals.

The word “occupy” in the Greek does not mean to occupy in the sense that we might use it for taking up or filling up our children’s time. The verb translated “occupy” in the Greek is pragmateuomai (prag-mat-yoo’-om-ahee). It is used in the context of doing business or engaging in trade. It is an active involvement in managing affairs, with the goal of gaining profit. In the New Testament, it is used to describe the diligent management of what has been entrusted to a servant. The Lord does not want His servants mindlessly filling up their time. He wants us using the time and talents we have been given to grow His business. What is the business? We are all called to be fishers of men. Are you guilty of filling your time with busyness or with doing God’s business?

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Take a moment and reflect on your daily activities. Are you gaining profit for the kingdom of God or are you wasting what God has given you?

Jonathon D. Smith