9A Worship - A Future of Shrewd Favor

Greetings Friends in Christ!

During the month of November, we’re discussing “eschatology” which is the fancy word for “study of last things.” The big idea of the Bible’s vision of the end is not “what it looks like when the world dies” but “what it looks like when creation finally arrives at its goal.” And what is that goal?

Both Old and New Testament expect that God’s people, when they do what they are called to do, will gain favor with the locals, and will thus not lack for resources. The problem is that the world keeps re-inventing ways to put wealth before people. From Deuteronomy to Aristotle, critique of submitting relationships to money abounds. Jesus tells us a strange tale of a shrewd manager who takes advantage of this system. If the future is going to look like the church, the question becomes, do we know how to deal faithfully and shrewdly today with little things? Will we gain favor with neighbors?

Rev. Dr. Gregory Wagenfuhr