Thanksgiving Day a sweet homeschooling momma of two passed away. I remember my friend as a giving, gentle, and smiling spirit. We were part of the same playgroup during our early years of homeschooling. As children chased each other through parks and yards, we moms visited and encouraged each other in homeschooling. Although she moved over the mountains, we still occasionally connected. A couple of months before she died she sent me a note of encouragement that meant much to me. I knew she was struggling with the terrible battle of cancer, and yet here she was encouraging me.
My devotions recently took me to Matthew 24 and I thought of her again. This chapter is filled with information about Christ’s return. I was struck by the words afresh. “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” (vs. 42) “…Be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” (44) Jesus then tells a parable of two servants, one who is “faithful and sensible” who was put in charge of the Master’s household. He is faithful because he cared for those under his authority within that “proper time.” He is sensible because he did not skip or miss those God granted times of responsibility but actively fulfilled them.
My seven year old is a funny little guy. He thrives on schedules and always has. If I do not feed him within a certain amount of time he gets cranky and tussles with obedience. I know this about him. So who is at fault if he is not fed and then gets out of control, him or me? The truth is I know I can help him in his journey to be a good boy by caring for him properly.
As Christian parents we have been entrusted with the care of sibling souls in the Master’s household. This opportunity only lasts so long. For some it may eighteen years but no one is guaranteed how long we will have to hone our children into the fashion we seek. We have been granted windows of time to feed our children spiritual truths. Mere slices eternally speaking. There are moments in our days that we are allowed to show by our very actions what is truly important and what is not. These opportunities should not be wasted.
Jesus also tells of the wicked servant who “says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time’ and began to beat his fellow slaves” and eat and drink with the worst kind. He thought he had time to get it right, to fix his mistakes, to still fulfill the Master’s commands. But the Master returned and discovered the wicked slave in full sin. The consequence of his disobedience was assignment to the place of “hypocrites” where “weeping and gnashing of teeth” will be.
The unfaithful servant did not act within the proper time. He was a hypocrite. He pretended to be the leader, the one who should have cared for the Master’s other children but he did not. Oh what a warning! Do we ever assume that we will have more time to make things right within our families instead of acting immediately? If we as parents allow ourselves to be sidetracked by personal pursuits instead of fulfilling our God given duty as servants in our homes, we fail.
A group of the many of the same moms who had attended that play group sat around a table last month remembering our friend. “How blessed that she homeschooled,” one shared, “her children had the chance to really know her.” And she was right. Her children did really know her and would have a chance of remembering her more fully because she had them with her every day 24/7. Homeschooling had allowed her to redeem every minute for her impact on their lives. Our friend had shared truth with her little loved ones on a daily basis and she fed them faithfully in the “proper time” that was allotted her.
Well done, good and faithful servant. I look forward to seeing dear Lorrie’s smiling face among the saints in heaven.
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