To have and to hold

Zach and I were on our way back to Greenville Illinois. We had just stopped at Walmart, our usual stop to buy food and save money. I was so hungry. I was trying to go on a little longer, in my urgency to finally collapse into bed at the end of the expanding road before me. The longer we didn’t have to stop the better. I just wanted to get to Greenville.

Well, we finally stopped, and I was content. Revived.

So… what if I decided I could hold out in hunger for a while longer? The reality is, I could have. The reality is, I didn’t have to even eat the food when we brought it back into the car. I could have brought the bags inside, and set them by my feet, and put my ear buds back into my ears. I could have picked up my cell phone and started texting my sister because I already miss her and it’s only been a matter of hours. I didn’t have to eat the food we had just bought.

What if I wanted to just keep my food close by just in case I got to my breaking point? I could have done that. What if I wanted to keep it all safe, in the back of the car so I wouldn’t think about it or waste even a spec of it? That’s good logic. There are starving people in the world. I shouldn’t be greedy with what I’m blessed with. If I take the absolute best care of my stuff, then I’ll be glorifying God with it.

Hmmm… well, I could have done that. I could have been proud of myself for my own self-control. But I didn’t do that. I ate. I was hungry.

So, why this ridiculous banter? Well, I guess I figure it might help me express something on my heart today.

Matthew 25:14-30 is the Parable Jesus told about the talents. A man is going on a journey, and he called his servants together, and entrusted his property to them. A “talent” was worth more than a thousand dollars. The man gave five talents of money to the first guy, two talents to the second guy, and one to the third guy. He gave according to the servants’ abilities at that time. The first guy and the second guy immediately invested in what they were given, and doubled what they received. The third guy went off and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. When the man came back, both the first and second servant came to him and presented the fruits of their labor. Their master responded by saying, “ Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

When the third servant came forward, he said, “Master, I knew you are a hard man harvesting where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”

Well, not a happy ending here… the master gave it to him good, and sets him darn straight.

The third servant made an assumption. And because of that assumption, and his fear, he lost everything. He lost even what he did have. In the end, he not only gained nothing, but lost what he did have.

What stands out to me is the end of this parable. Verses 28-29 say, “Take the talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

The first time I read that, it stuck to me. Everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.

These words are life. The Word of God, is called the LIVING word of God, because it is alive, and it speaks life. Life is now. Life is alive. It is parallel to exactly the moment we’re in. Life is now.

Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

These words can be a release, or they can be words that strap your arms behind your back until your neck cramps to your shoulder. It eventually becomes more comfortable to stay in the cramp than to attempt to stretch it out.

Just because God “gives” us something, doesn’t mean we receive it. What I’m struck with is this: we are to seek abundance. We are not to settle for the menial amounts we begin with. He gives with intentions of giving us more.

When we make assumptions about what God can do, we settle. We make a compromise because of our own limitations. When we go off and hide what He tried to give us, because it’s not really “ours,” and because we’re afraid, we do absolutely nothing. We lose. In the end, we not only lose, but we lost.

We don’t receive, just because something was given. We need to HAVE what is given. Receive what is given. Hold it. Grasp it. Take hold of it. To have and to hold is not just a wedding vow. We are to have and to hold what God gives.

Just because I bought some food did not mean I had it. And it would have done me no good if I didn’t eat it. So I ate it.

I don’t want to be someone with my neck stuck to my shoulder. I want to have and to hold the things God gives me. I want to seek an abundance. I don’t want to hide what He gives me. I want more of Him, and I’m allowed to seek it. I’m allowed to get fired up. I’m allowed to get upset and angry when I feel I’m not reaching the abundance that is mine as a child of God. I’m allowed to act in extremes. You know why? It’s passion. We’re allowed to have passion. Passion is not always “nice” and it’s not always what looks “safe” or “humble.” But you know what? After a while with your neck stuck to your shoulder, it doesn’t feel natural to tug it back to where it’s supposed to be. It hurts worse than the problem.

I’m sick of this in my own life. I’m done with it, and I’m angry about it. I’m passionate about it. I’m asking God for more. When He gives, it’s to have and to hold, and I want all of it.

I have a problem when people preach against the prosperity message. The prosperity message that God is a God who loves to give. That God is a God who loves to give His people good things. Good gifts. That we are a people who are allowed to ask for more. That we are allowed to have and to hold the things God gives. This passage tells me something. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Those words are not my own, and I hope they never are. Everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. I didn’t make up those words either, but I want those to be mine.