A Lesson from Avatar??

"All energy is on the borrow...and one day, you have to give it back."

-Avatar

About two weeks ago, I watched Avatar for the first time (yes, I know...I am kinda late on that one-my bad). If you haven't seen it, I would suggest it- it's very long and slightly predictable but the graphics and effects are incredible. Anyways, the main character is Jake Sully, a paraplegic that has been taken in as a part of a mission to explore a planet with extremely valuable minerals on it. The scientists have designed Avatars, which are crafted to blend in with the natives of Pandora. Jake is in charge of one of these, and he is very successful in bonding with the Na'vi and learning their lifestyle. He describes their way of living to the audience, which is when he tells us that according to these people, "All energy is on the borrow...and one day, you have to give it back." This rang a bell for me. About a year ago, I read a quote by Erma Brombeck that I really loved. She said, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope I would not have a single bit of talent left, and I could say, "I used everything you gave me." Kinda cool, right? I mean how many of us really look at the talents we have and use them (invest may be a better word here) like they're going out of style? This reminds me of Matthew 25:14-30...read it here. In this parable, Jesus speaks of a man who is about to go on a journey. He leaves his property (talents?!) in the hands of several of his servants. He gave one man five talents, one man two talents, and one man one talent. The man with five talents invested these, and doubled what he had started with! The man with two talents did the same. However, the man with one talent buried his. Years later, the master returned. In the Gospel of Luke we learn that this man was made king. Luke writes, "Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it" (Luke 19:15). Take note of the metaphor here. Jesus is currently the master on the journey, and we are the servants handling his property until he returns. He has given us each talents- think spiritual gifts or all that God has blessed us with- according to what he knows we can handle. In a short while, he will return to us to see what we've done with his property. He will see how we've used what he gave us, hoping that we will report back to him and say we invested our talents and multiplied them by using them to bless others.

In this life, we are not only servants, but stewards. The dictionary defines a steward as, "one who manages another's property, finances, or other affairs." We are managing the talents, time, money-blessings- that truly belong to God. We are responsible for making sure that we use everything God has given us to the best of our abilities. We have to take care of ourselves, our families, our money, and the earth...all of which God has entrusted to us for our brief time in flesh. We must do the best we can do, and leave it to God to judge how we have managed His belongings. After all, as Jake Sully says, we will eventually have to give it all back. I don't know about you, but I want to be able to tell God I put everything He gave me to good use. I want to return it in pristine condition. I want it to have multiplied greatly. When I report back to the Lord at the end of my life, I can only hope that His response will be similar to the master's in Matthew 25:21: "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master's happiness!" The joy of the Lord sounds pretty good to me! When we are faithful with what our Master has given us, we get to share in a deep satisfaction, freedom, and happiness that can come only from God. Let's see what can happen on this earth if we start really using what God gave us!

PB&J