Luke 16, 365 DAYS OF LOVE #9: SIMPLE CHORES

Passage: The Parable of the Shrewd Manager, Additional Teachings, The Rich Man and Lazarus


Memory Verse: "So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" -Luke 16:11


Notes:(v.1-15) In the parable of the shrewd manager, Jesus tells his disciples that "whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" Even though Jesus is talking about money in this parable, I think this applies to much of life. One of the biggest lessons God has taught me occurred just after my freshman year--that year, I had begun to take my faith seriously and I wanted Him to use me for his glory. But my grades were incredibly low--I had been wasting my time on so many irrelevant things that my grades plummeted to C's and B's. I remember one day that summer, while I was praying, God very clearly and distinctly spoke to me with this passage. Basically, He told me, "Eleanor, how can I trust you to do big things for Me if you can't even handle your homework responsibly and in a way that brings glory to Me?" In fact, I had been praying with my mom, and at the EXACT SAME moment we both felt God saying this to me! Just as God was telling me this internally, she prayed this outloud--it was as if she was speaking the words just as they came into my head (but in Chinese haha)! It was the first time either of us had ever realized this, and we weren't even really praying about my studies then. It was surreal, and amazing.  I had been so focused on the bigger picture that I had forgotten some basic responsibilities given to me--to be a student, daughter, sister, and friend for Christ. That night was one of the most intimately repentant experiences I've had with God--all because of my studies! So Asian haha. But I am deeply thankful for His "seeing if there is any offensive way in me, and leading me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24) Since then, my study habits have changed in such a drastic way that only God could have been behind all this. God has helped me learn to glorify Him through being a STUDENT! MAN HE IS GOOD. 
-(v.16-31) Jesus preaches the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: even in hell, the rich man, who mistreated Lazarus in life, lives in torment but in the same ignorance. But Lazarus is comforted in heaven, and there is a great chasm between the two that cannot be crossed. 

ACT OF LOVE: My mom got sick today, so I helped around with some simple household chores such as doing the dishes, trash, and taking care of Bambi. She got to sleep earlier and I got to spend a bit of quality time with my dog <3