Listening with the Heart – Using our Gifts

“So let us faithfully use the good things God has given us, so that He will never, as a Father who is angered by our rejection, cast us out of His family. Nor, as our Lord, provoked by the evil we choose, hand us over to everlasting punishment as unfaithful servants who refused to follow Him into glory.”
— Prologue

Benedict continues to build on the truth we considered last week: God has already welcomed us as His children. But now he reminds us that being welcomed into God’s family is not something we should take for granted.

God has given each of us gifts, opportunities and the ability to choose how we live. Benedict calls us to use these good things faithfully. Our lives are meant to be a response to the goodness God has already shown us.

God has given us time, relationships, abilities, possessions, opportunities to serve and countless small occasions to love. None of these things belong to us absolutely. They are gifts entrusted to us.The question is: What are we doing with what God has given us?

Benedict speaks quite starkly about the possibility of being cast out and facing punishment. His language is deliberately serious. God’s mercy should never become an excuse for indifference.Yet we should not read this as though God is waiting for an opportunity to reject us.

The image Benedict gives us is first that of a Father.A loving father wants what is good for his children. When a child deliberately turns away from what is good, the father’s grief is not because his love has disappeared. It is because the child is choosing something that will ultimately harm them.

Benedict also calls us servants who are being invited to follow our Lord “into glory.” There is a destination before us. We are not simply trying to avoid doing wrong; we are being called towards a life with God.We obey not merely because we are afraid of punishment, but because we trust the One who is leading us. We believe that His way leads somewhere good. And yet, Benedict knows how easily we can wander. We can receive God’s gifts and use them only for ourselves. We can receive His forgiveness and then continue deliberately choosing the same destructive patterns.

The invitation this week, then, is not to become anxious about every failure. It is to become faithful.Look at what God has placed in your hands, your gifts.

Your time. Your relationships. Your work. Your resources. Your abilities. Your body. Your attention. Your opportunities to serve.

These are the gifts.How might God be asking you to use them today?

A Practice for the Week

Each morning, take a few moments to name three things God has given you.They might be people, abilities, opportunities, possessions, responsibilities or simply the gift of another day.Then ask:“Lord, how can I use these gifts for You today?”

A Prayer

Heavenly Father,
Thank You for all that You have entrusted to me.
Forgive me for the times I have used Your gifts selfishly, ignored Your voice or chosen my own way.Teach me to receive everything I have as a gift from You, and give me the wisdom and grace to use those gifts faithfully.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.