A Gift

^"14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

~II Timothy 3:14-17~

(emphasis added)

I am extremely blessed to have been born and raised in a Christian home... and not just a home where people are okay with God, but in a home where my parents have raised us to love and worship Him. The passage above was a part of this morning's family Bible reading, and as I heard those words I was once again reminded how blessed I am! No, I don't live in a "perfect" family (after all, we happen to be a bunch of sinners saved by grace!), but I do live in a family were Christ is esteemed and family is valued. One thing about being born and raised in a Christ-centered family is that I think I have a greater responsibility to be a light in this dark world.

A few weeks ago I gave a speech in class about missions. I ended it like this,

"We are extremely blessed to have been raised in Christian homes where we have been given a superior education, discipleship, and a good understanding of Biblical things. With these great blessings comes great responsibility. Someday we will stand before God, accountable for our actions. We are like the slave in the parable who had been given 5 talents. It is our job to take those “talents” that God has given us and multiply them. Imagine how angry the master would have been at the slave who was given 5 talents if HE had buried it and returned the same amount. It wouldn’t matter that he had returned more than the slaves who were given 2 and 1 talents. He would be held accountable for wasting the gift his master had given him, and it is the same for us."

God gives each of his children special gifts and abilities that He can use to bring Himself glory. One of the gifts he gave me was to be raised in a country where my parents were free to disciple me and teach me the ways of the Lord from the time I was a young child and that they did/continue to do so with great vigor. Someday, I hope to be able to pour some of the knowledge they gave me into the cups of people who have never heard the name of Jesus!