Realities 

     My Dad was a keeper. I should know. After college, I rented in "my" boyhood home while working for six months. 

     After the Army, I rented "my" home again for two more years. Mom's cooking still worked for me. Then I left for a job four hours away. 

     Dad died at 93. I knew where he stashed everything...in the basement, the former coal room, in the attic, even in the garage above and below.   

     His driveway stretches from the sidewalk to the garage, beyond the back door. We cluttered most of it. We also put out 23 garbage bags. 

     Like father like son? Well, our driveway is wide enough for three pick-up trucks, so no worry. But all that's secondary.

     The primary reality is God's call to do something for his kingdom. Paul had no garage, attic or basement. He wrote:

     "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish my race with joy...to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" - Acts 20:24.

     We're not missionaries. But we can learn from Jesus' parable in Matthew chapter 25. (Here, a "talent" represents our abilities, time, resources and service.) A property owner leaves five talents with a servant, two with another, and one with a third. The first two servants added to the wealth and were rewarded. The third servant just saved his talent. 

     Jesus, speaking for the Father, said, "Throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."   

     Tuesday: Dawn's early light