Saturday 16 May

Jesus said, 'Whoever is faithful in little things will be faithful in large ones.' Luke 16:10

Jesus told a story (parable) about three men, one who used his 10 talents wisely, the second who used his 5 talents to good effect and the third who just hid his one talent in a cloth in the ground and had no return to offer on his master’s money. The men Jesus commends are those who used a bit of initiative and found a way to make money out of what they had. Now we are not given a fistful of dollars by God and told to make money – on the stock exchange, by buying seeds, planning them and gradually accumulating money by selling produce or whatever.

God does give us gifts, the greatest of which is love:
His love for us.
The love which binds the Trinity together.
The love of family.
The love of friends and lovers.

Love is our ‘talent’, the gift God has entrusted to His followers, it is up to us to use and share this gift to draw others towards His love.

• We need to be lovely people, not necessarily beautiful to look at but to have that personality from which love radiates out from us and is shown in countless small acts of courtesy and kindness – given without the expectation or desire for ‘payback’.
• Then we are to be loving people, those who go the extra mile, who share the load, whether that is laughter or grief: who have at the centre of their being care – care for the world, care for the people of the world. Who try to look at the world with the eyes of God rather than greed and selfishness.

Take time to feel the love of God, how He cares for you, how He provides for you, bask in His attention feel the warmth that it brings. Most of us have experienced love at some stage in our lives, and I hope you have also experienced that feeling of being overwhelmed by love, so great it almost becomes part of you. Let this be your experience of the God of love.

Take time to love yourself, remember you are a child of God, loved by Him, take care of yourself.
Take time to love ‘one another’ time to pray for and contact our church family.
Take time to love the world, it was created by God and so are all the creatures and people however unlikely it seems to us. Tend a plant, take care of a garden, share your gifts and wealth with others.

Lesley Margetts