February, 2006

You could see it in his eyes.

We had asked him to pay close attention to his baby sister, while we stepped out of the room. He was old enough now to take care of her, but not so old that he had taken on this "big boy" responsibility before.

We were close by.

He was growing up.

When we stepped back into the room, he was holding his baby sister, smiling at her, talking to her... and feeling the joy of being trusted.

As parents, we are especially grateful when our kids keep our trust. We know the road to mature trustworthiness will have its bumps and turns, but we press on to encourage and cultivate the quality of trustworthiness in our children.

Paul writes to Timothy - his "son in the faith" about trust:

"What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in you." - (2 Timothy 1: 13)

In Paul's world, people often deposited their valuables at the temple, the first century equivalent of a safety deposit box. The temple had the sacred trust of safeguarding each deposit and returning it to the owner or his designated beneficiaries at the requested time. People could also place their assets in the hands of trusted friends, asking them to disburse the trust at the right time to family or friends whom they named. The trustee gave a sacred oath that he would safeguard the deposit for as long as it was in his care.

You and I have the joy of being trusted by our Lord Himself.

By the help of God's Holy Spirit (v. 13c), we can say with the Apostle Paul,

"...I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day."

Today, let's join Paul in two covenants of trust: entrusting everything we are and hope to be into his keeping, knowing that we can trust him with the results and return on investment, and, secondly, asking him to keep us trustworthy by the help of His Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Trust is not just for kids. It's for children of God at every age and stage.

Blessings!
John Williams