When I was in college, my pastor and his wife asked me to stay with their high schooler when they were on a mission’s trip. They also loaned me their car to drive back and forth to school. Hence, Pastor and Mrs. Andersen entrusted me with their precious cargo. I took it very seriously. The apostle Paul said to his young protégé, Timothy, basically the same thing. “Timothy, God has entrusted you with His precious treasure so it’s important that you guard it. Take it seriously.” I thought about that. God has entrusted us with His most prized possessions as well. We might ask… what is that? Well, I believe we can nail it down to two things: people and the Word of God. Both of these things are eternal. Contrary to what we have been told… there are two things we take with us to heaven… people and the Word of God.
The moment we became a Christian; God entrusted us with these two things. Therefore, it’s important we do what Timothy was taught to do… GUARD them. We might ask… Well, isn’t the Church important to Him? Isn’t the Gospel important to Him? Isn’t Solid Truth Ministries important to Him? Aren’t our spiritual gifts important to Him? The answer is YES to all of them, but these things are vessels He uses to bring people to salvation, to guide people, and to advance the Gospel and spread the Word of God.
In light of this, let’s examine what that looks like for you and me. What does it mean that God has entrusted us with people and His Word?
People! This includes every person is our life… our children and grandchildren, our spouse, our friends, our Christian community, our neighbors, the store clerk, the bank teller, the cable technician. It is our responsibility to love people the way Jesus loves. We are to make people feel cherished, valued, important, and worthy. We are to help people, walk with people, speak truth into people, and treat them with respect. We are to seek unity and run from division.
I’ve heard people say, “Well, I don’t like people.” This probably comes from a deep place of hurt and abandonment. As Christians, this should not be our mentality. People are important to God, so they should be to us as well. The way we treat people, love on people, and show their worth can win them over for Jesus.
The Word of God! God has spoken! He’s spoken to you and me. We can hear His voice every day. God values His Word. It’s a treasure to Him. And He has entrusted us with it. That means that we are to take it seriously. We should seek to learn it, live by it, and obey it. We should hold it tight, guarding it, and treating it with the utmost respect. I know of some churches that have their congregations rise when the Word is read. To me, that shows how much they respect God’s Word.
We are to carry God’s Word in our hearts and also teach others the truth. We are to cherish God’s Word above all else. Many people are twisting it, deconstructing it, and making it what they want it to be. God’s Word is God’s Word and should be taken exactly as is. What God says should be taken as gospel for each of us. No compromising. This is how we guard it. This is how we honor it.
God has entrusted to us the two most important things to Him. Let’s take these things serious.