To whom much is given, much more will be expected

These days, I really take this to heart. But I didn’t always. Honestly, I always used to think it was unfair. I didn’t understand why someone had to go out and do more for God just because they were given more. Then, more was given to me.

I’m beyond blessed. When I make a list of things I’m grateful for, I know the truth: I don’t deserve any of it. And God knows it, too. But he doesn’t give us these gifts based on what we deserve. If He did, none of us would get anything. But He gives them to us because He loves us. Whenever I count my blessings, my immediate response is to ask God—what can I do for You? You have given me so much, Lord. You have given me my life. And what I do with my life is my gift back to You.

I’m sure that if you haven’t seen Spiderman, you at least are familiar with Ben Parker’s mantra: With great power, comes great responsibility. What Jesus says to us is essentially the same. We have great power:  we have the Eucharist! We eat His body and drink His blood—what could be more powerful, what could be a greater gift than that? While everyone has Jesus in them, we have Him in an intimate, unique, and mind-blowing way.

Look, just because God asks more of us does not mean that we have to do it. We have free will. We can say no. He never makes us do anything. So when Jesus says that more will be expected of us, let’s think about what expected means.

I looked up “expected” in the dictionary on google (maybe not the most scholarly source, but bear with me), and here’s what it had to say: “regard something as likely to happen, regard someone as likely to do or be something, believe that something or someone will arrive soon, look for something from someone as rightfully due or required in the circumstances, and require someone to fulfill an obligation.”

So, let’s put that all together (the best we can of course since I am admittedly not a theologian). When more is expected of us, it means that we are likely to be or do something! Wow, what could we be or do? It is not yet known what God can work through us if we let Him. It also means that something is likely to happen—and by assumption we can say that we are the ones who will be doing it. That sounds pretty important. It also means that someone will arrive soon, so we’re meant to go somewhere for God. And then there’s the part that can be kind of difficult—that even though He doesn’t make us, it doesn’t change the fact that we owe God in any circumstance, and we have an obligation.

But look at what our obligation is—it’s basically to do something, to go somewhere, that we are going to make something happen, and that we have a responsibility to make it happen. When we’re given a lot of gifts, and power, we do have a certain responsibility to make a difference. Not because God forces us, but just because that’s what we’re called to do—bring Christ to the world. That’s our responsibility.

And I have come to find that I want that responsibility. Because I am so grateful for my blessings, I genuinely want to go where God wants me to go, and do what He wants me to do. And I don’t do it out of obligation or because I feel like I should, though technically that is true, but because I want to. God has given me so much and blessed me so much… that wanting to give back to Him and His people has become a part of me.

It’s clear in the Bible that we have a responsibility. And it’s also clear to Peter Parker. But what the Bible doesn’t say, what Peter Parker doesn’t say, is that eventually we’ll want that responsibility. When we start to take a look at the state that the world’s in, and know that we could do something about it, we won’t be able to ignore that anymore. Because it isn’t just physical gifts that are given to us—but knowledge, wisdom, and grace. We know what God wants the world to be, and we can’t just sit by and ignore it when people are hurt or suffering. You see… there’s too much Jesus in us. And so eventually, we’ll embrace that Cross, and kiss it, and find that it isn’t heavy. When we genuinely love Jesus and love His people, we feel drawn to help, to give back, to use our talents and gifts to change the world.

Maybe I sound like I’m crazy. Well, I am. I’m crazy about Jesus and I’m crazy about people… and love? Well, love makes you do crazy things. It makes you want to give back. It makes you a little more compassionate, merciful, kind, loving, open, understanding. Mostly, it makes you a little more like Jesus. And when we really think about everything that Jesus has done for us… we soon realize that nothing He expects of us is ever too much, because He’s going to work through us to do it.

And I’ve come to find that—no matter how much I give back—it is but a drop compared to the ocean of goodness that God has bestowed upon me.