GOD'S TENANT FARMERS (Leviticus 25)

Make no mistake about it.  In God's economy, God owns us. He bought us with a price. Jesus traded His death for ours. The only choice we have is whether we accept the purchase or not; we can refuse it.

That thought came to me in reading Leviticus 25 this morning. In it, God says, "The land cannot be sold permanently because the land is mine and you are foreigners—you’re my tenants."  Later He says, "Treat him as a hired hand," in prohibiting slave trading between Israelites.

Every fifty years, Israel celebrated the year of jubilee.  Land was returned to ancestral owners, and slaves were set free. 

I am God's tenant. What on earth does that mean? A few thoughts:

• God provides what I need to work. 
• I should hold onto things lightly. They don't really belong to me, in any case.
• God expects us to maintain and improve what He gives to us.
• I should treat others as fellow tenants--I am no better nor worse than they are. We have an equal position before God. 
• God expects a return on His investment. He expects farmers to sow seeds and harvest. He expects teachers to teach. He expects writers--gulp--to write and share what they have written. 

As God's tenant, what do you feel He is asking you to do today?