To Whom Much Is Given

There was once an old man who lived in a city that had been deprived of rain for a long time. For many years, this man prayed for rain but nothing happened. In that same city was a young boy who had heard so much about rain. He, too, like the old man began to pray for rain. One fateful day, both of them had supernatural encounters where they were told that rain would fall soon. The old man, who had seen rainfall before the drought, had a hard time believing that rain would ever fall again. As a result of his unbelief, he never took any precautions when leaving his house because he doubted that the rain would return. The young boy, on the other hand, wondered what the rain would look like when it eventually returned and often went out with an umbrella.

The day the rain fell began like every normal day and both the old man and the young boy were far from their houses when it began to fall in torrents. The young boy quickly used his umbrella as a shield against the rain while the old man was drenched from head to toe. Sadly for the old man, the rain he had fervently prayed for became the cause of his death. A few days after the rain fell, he died of severe pneumonia. Even though his prayers were fervent, he doubted that his answer would come.

This old man, like Zechariah, paid dearly for his unbelief. Zechariah, the revered priest from the family of Abijah and the husband of Elizabeth, had always hoped for a child. At some point in his life, he probably gave up his desire because age was not on his side. As a priest, he had access to the law and had read about Abraham and Sarah who were blessed with Isaac in their old age. However, unlike Abraham who chose to have faith in God despite his contrary situation, Zechariah chose to tow the thorny path of unbelief. When God sent the angel Gabriel to tell him that his prayers had been answered and that he would have a son, he couldn’t believe it. (Luke 1:8-20).

Another young lady, Mary, had a similar encounter but in her case, God told her that she would have a child as a virgin. Both of them faced medically impossible situations that made them wonder and ask questions. While God entertained Mary’s questions, He struck Zechariah with dumbness for his. Even though their responses were similar, the outcomes were vastly different because of certain things. Zechariah, as a priest, was supposed to know better than to question God because he had the privilege of reading the law himself and knowing what God could or could not do. Mary, on the other hand, wasn’t so privileged. In ancient Jewish society, women were restricted from certain areas of the temple and they often didn’t have personal access to the book of the law. Unlike Zechariah who could read God’s law for himself, Mary had to rely on the men in her life or the priests to reveal God’s law to her. However, despite her obvious disadvantage, she still displayed a greater level of faith and surrender than Zechariah.

Their stories teach us certain salient things.

1. God will never demand from a man what He hasn’t invested in him: God had invested His word in Zechariah and He expected a greater level of faith from him. Unlike Mary who hadn’t had such exposure, God only required from her what she could offer.
2. To whom much is given, much is expected: Just like the first point, when God entrusts much to your hands, He expects much more from you. God will judge every man based on what He has made available to him.
3. We are at different junctures       in our journey with God: Even twins that were born within the same hour have different destinies and so does everyone that follows God. We all have different destinies and are at different points       in our walk with God. Even though it seemed as if Zechariah and Mary were receiving the same miracle, their walk with God was vastly different. It is, therefore, unwise, to compare yourself with others because you don’t know their journey with God.

In our journey with God, we must be careful to live up to the grace that God has made available to us. No man in his right senses will expect a one-month-old baby to walk but when a six-year-old child refuses to walk, there is a huge problem. God doesn’t want us to spend donkey years as Christians yet continue to act like infants. He wants our growth to reflect His investments in our lives. Just as a farmer will not go to the farm to harvest mango after three months of planting the seed, God will not require from us what He hasn’t invested in us. However, that farmer will be justified when he goes to harvest corn because three months is sufficient for a corn harvest. Don’t let your years as a believer be the only thing you can boast of. Don’t just grow your head knowledge of the Bible, let God harvest a life of selfless love, daring faith and complete surrender to His will, in you. Let your response be like that of Mary who said, ‘Be it unto me according to Your word.’ (Luke 1:38).

In conclusion, whenever God promotes you in your workplace or in His vineyard, it is a call to greater responsibilities. When your finances increase, it is a call to greater stewardship. Whenever God gives you more, know that He is requiring more from you. The more the divine investments in your life, the more you have to walk in humility, faith and total reliance on God because God will require more from your hands.