Maximize the present moment!

Luke 12:39-48

39 "You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn't have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. 40 So don't you be slovenly and careless. Just when you don't expect him, the Son of Man will show up." 41 Peter said, "Master, are you telling this story just for us? Or is it for everybody?" 42 The Master said, "Let me ask you: Who is the dependable manager, full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of his staff to feed them well and on time? 43 44 He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he's doing his job. 45 But if he says to himself, 'The master is certainly taking his time,' begins maltreating the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, 46 the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes. 47" The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. 48 But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he'll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!

Food for Thought:

The unwise steward made two mistakes we all so often make.

(i) He said, I will do what I like while my master is away; he forgot that the day of reckoning always comes. We have a habit of dividing life into compartments. There is a part in which we remember that God is present; and there is a part in which we never think of him at all; there are days, moments and places we are godly, and others we are not. We tend to draw a line between sacred and secular; between holy and profane; but if we really know what Christianity means we will know that there is no part of life when the master is away. We are working and living forever in our master's eye. Our Master is never away. God is watching us.

(ii) He said, I have plenty of time to put things right before the master comes; there is nothing so fatal as to feel that we have plenty of time. Jesus said, "We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night comes when no one can work" (Jn.9:4). Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

One of the most dangerous days in a man's life is when he discovers the word "tomorrow." Tomorrow never comes; yesterday never comes back; only today matters. Live it well.

Each new day embodies the fullness of the past, the excitement of the present, and the promise of tomorrow. Each day is a new opportunity for service! “The past is a bucket of ashes, so live not in your yesterdays, nor just for tomorrow, but in the here and now. Keep moving and forget the post-mortems.” — Carl Sandburg. 

Try to hold this simple truth in mind: Yesterday is gone. No matter what happened in the past, it’s over. We cannot go back. Tomorrow may never come, so the present is the moment we have. Let us strive to make the best, most positive use of every precious moment, each special day.

The passage finishes with the warning that knowledge and privilege always bring responsibility; our privileges, our opportunities, our riches, our money, our talents all is responsibility. To whom much is given privileges, opportunities, riches, money, or talents, much will be demanded of him. Sin is doubly sinful to the person who knew better; failure is doubly blameworthy in the person who had every chance to do well.