Because you have been faithful in a very little ...

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The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’

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I have heard it said that life is a test for the life after this life. This parable certainly alludes to this and even more. What we do when no one is looking matters. How we deal with the little things in life matters much not only to the Master but to ourselves. How we handle the insignificant matters of life are not insignificant because they speak deeply to issues of honor and integrity. If we are unable to handle the small things we will never be ready for larger ones.

Brother Lawrence, a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris, once said: "our only business in this life is to please God" and "We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.". In this parable there was one who forgot that obligation. I think that the true mark of a believer is one who loves and honors God in everything that they do.

Let my life be a living sacrifice of love to you today my dear Lord Jesus Christ.

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