Life Is A Temporary Assignment

In the last post we covered one of Rick Warren's "life metaphors" in his booklet "What On Earth Am I Doing Here?". That metaphor was that life is a test. This week we look at the other two metaphors Warren uses--that life is a trust and a temporary assignment.

The idea behind "life is a trust" is that everything we have--from life and health, to intellect and talents, to relationships and possessions--everything has been entrusted to us. We are to care for it, manage it, enjoy it, and then someday account for what we did with it.

What God wants to say to us at the end of our life is what the master said to his faithful servant in the parable of the talents, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things: I will put you in charge of many things." (Matt 25:21)

Closely related to the concept that life is a trust is that life is a temporary assignment. Here, though, instead of the master going on a journey and leaving his servant in charge at home, the master sends his servant as an ambassador on an assignment to represent the master in a foreign country.

This assignment is critical to the master's business, so the ambassador must learn the language, know his task, and relate to the people well.

The ambassador must be careful, though, to not get too comfortable in that foreign land nor identify too much with its inhabitants. The ambassador represents the master, not the country to which he has been sent, and will one day be called home to give an accounting of his work.

What do you think of this statement by Warren on page 45: "In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a certain amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life..."?

Warren also says, "God is more interested in your character than your comfort." I've often said the same thing to myself and to others during times of difficulty. Does it give you insight into some difficult times in your own life?

What is it that God has entrusted to you, and how can you invest it for your Master's benefit?

To whom have you been sent as God's ambassador? How is the assignment going so far?

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