WESLEY ARNING

The shrewd manager represents us at our best and our worst. We can use our skills for our own betterment or to reflect the generosity of our Lord. We can share the amazing news of God’s generosity with others and see how it changes lives…or we can selfishly hold it to ourselves as if it was ever intended just for us. We can come before the throne of God either in fear of his righteous judgment, knowing that we should be condemned for our sin and deceit in this life, or in hum

God does not promise that we will go through life unscathed, but he does promise that he will never leave us nor forsake us. If the Son of God had to go through so much pain and sorrow in his own life, then his disciples would not get to bypass it either. Rather, it is in the Incarnate One that we are reminded that we are never alone.

When our identity is rooted in God rather than ourselves, then we can be reassured that we don’t have to be everything. Trying to be everything, even if it’s a childhood hope, can quickly turn into slavery. And we know for sure that God rescues his people from slavery. Jeremiah was far from perfect, but that’s the point. God works through the unlikeliest of characters, and our names can be added to that list. We may be broken vessels, but we are broken vessels who are still m

This life is a gift, but it is not solely ours. We are children of the Living God, who plumbed the depths of human pain, sorrow, and even death—and for our sake, carved a path to eternal life through his resurrection. He died so that none of us would die alone. And he rose on the third day, so that we might rise with him as children and heirs of the Kingdom of God. Be not afraid. Death cannot diminish the glory of God.

Though our bodies grow weak, we don’t lose value in the sight of God. He sees us in our weakness, and he loves us all the more. He is our Good Shepherd, who guides us through the mountains and valleys of this life until we reach our destination. Jesus said he was the way, the truth, and the life, and so Jesus is the path, and he is the destination. It is with him that we journey on this earthly pilgrimage, and it is into his loving arms that we run when this life is over.