Occupy

Stephen & I in 1975. He wrote me
a song a played his guitar for me!

When Stephen was 8 years old he told his guitar teacher that Jesus would return before his 13 year old sister married.  A few months later he and his family were in Louisiana visiting and he and I were discussing names for our future children.  Teasing him, his mother reminded him about what he had told his teacher.  Thrown for only a moment, he shot back “Occupy”!  He had already caught his mother’s quickness with a scripture for everything!  “Occupy until I come” (Luke 19, KJV of course!)

Yes, you read that correctly we were naming children at 8 years old!  While we did not use any of those names 14 years later when our daughter was born, we have been occupying for 27 years as of this past May 26^th!

As I drove down memory lane around our anniversary, I thought of the 16 houses in 6 communities in 3 states we have occupied.  One of things I noted was the difference in the ones we rented and the ones we owned.  Occupying a home you own is quite different than occupying one you do not. The ones we’ve owned always involved at least some changes in paint color, they often involved broken things to repair, and they all involved insurance to protect our investment and taxes to pay.   With ownership comes responsibility.

When financing or insuring a house, one of the risk factors is who occupies the property.  Is it unoccupied? Is it tenant occupied? Or is it owner occupied? Less risk is perceived when a property is owner occupied because the occupant has a vested interest in the condition of the house.  I recall being surprised, actually aggravated with our landlord when we moved out of one of the first apartments we occupied. I thought I had worked hard to leave things clean; primarily to make sure our deposit was returned!  But when the owner inspected the property, her idea of a clean oven and mine were not the same!    

So when Jesus told the parable of the talents in Luke 19, were the servants in story to be tenants or owners of the property he entrusted to them?  In Sunday school lessons about this parable, the thing I’ve most often heard relates to our stewardship of the material things God has provided.  And that’s a good lesson.  Indeed the New Living version reads, “invest this for me until I come.”  This application of the parable seems to speak more to a tenant, which is valid given that this world is not our permanent home and certainly material things are temporary.  However, I have to wonder if there is another lesson for us in this parable. Just before telling this parable, Jesus had reminded the crowd that had followed him to Zacchaeus’ home that he came to seek and to save those who are lost. In John 3:17 we are told that God sent his Son to occupy our world not to condemn it, but to save it.  He came as an owner. He had a vested interest. He had the responsibility of fixing what had been broken, protecting and redeeming that which belonged to him.  So are we tenants or owners of what he has entrusted to us?  I think when it comes to people, Jesus’ words and actions compel us to exercise the care of an owner.

This last week one the finest occupants of this world I have known found her permanent home in the presence of her King. Violet Helms was a woman who knew how to occupy until he came for her. In her obituary, after listing her surviving family members the following was printed, “and a host of others she considered her own”.  As a part of that host, I can testify that she did indeed care for each person as if they were her own.  She sought out the lost, repaired the broken and spurred others to good works. As both my father and her current pastor attested, her spurring often came in words of encouragement, but she also cared enough to say what you needed to hear even if it was tough. Thanks to these two men who are part of her host and the beautiful voices of her grandchildren, I left her service feeling encouraged to serve the Lord wholeheartedly.  I know that’s exactly what she would have wanted because that’s exactly how I always felt when I was in her presence.  



May 26, 1984 with Stephen's grandparents
and mine, Bro. & Sis. Helms. They truly took
me in as one of their own.



As my father said, 27 years ago when Stephen and I drove away from our wedding reception, “God help us”.  Help us to occupy your land with great care, considering each one as our own, always seeking the lost, repairing the broken and protecting those who belong to you.

Thanks for listening,

Ronda

“Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.”  I Peter 5:2&3

“Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.” I Thessalonians 5:14