“My son (daughter)…you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” Luke 15:31
“So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, […] and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. “ 1 Corinthians 3:21-22
Do you ever feel like everything is going great for everyone else? Ever feel like you’re behind? Ever feel like you’re just not talented…at anything? This message is for you. This verse shows us that in Christ, God has given us everything—those gifts we wish we had, the celebration we wish was for us, the talents we know we’ll never have. The sting of this list invites discontentment and sadness to sit at the table. The talents and blessings of others appear in our feed whenever we pick up the phone. Comparing our reality to someone’s highlights leaves us feeling sad and frustrated. We see that birthday present, vacation, or beautiful photo, and we don’t have that.
While we can’t change those circumstances, we can choose to see their accomplishments and accolades differently. We can pivot. When we think outside of ourselves, we breathe more deeply. When we look up and out, we focus more clearly the work that God is doing. Looking at the verse again, he says, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” The father of the prodigal son says this to the brother who dutifully, but perhaps begrudgingly, stays behind. Jesus tells us that the Father in the story is a representation of God, welcoming home the personalities and histories represented in the brothers. God kindly speaks to the brother who feels like he is missing out on the celebration. The jealousy of the celebration of another hits home.
When we notice the grace of God in other’s lives, whether through the blessing of a promotion or powerful prayer, we can walk in confidence that God isn’t withholding those gifts from us. God actively utilizes those gifts for his kingdom. This is the same kingdom that God says resides within us and that access through Jesus. He often uses someone else’s talents and dreams to fulfill his kingdom, that kingdom within us. When we feel we have nothing to offer, nothing special or different, it’s in those moments that God is showing us we are all part of something bigger than ourselves. How freeing! He uses all the pieces of the puzzle–this wild world–to accomplish his purpose in which we get to play a role.
The idea that God withholds from us—a talent, a job, a role, a moment in the spotlight, is the same lie from the beginning, from the garden. God does not withhold good from his children but gives us what we need at the time we need it. The peace and contentment with what he’s given us is loosely threaded for most of us, but that’s when we hold tight. We belong to a larger community of believers and we can hang on to threads he’s weaving around us. We are part of the greater tapestry of believers, a community where God tells us that “All I have is yours” through the Father. How does that bring you comfort? When have you believed the lie that God is holding out on you? What can we do today to live in the truth that everything is ours in him?
