The way you see your life will influence how you invest your time, spend your money, use your talents, and value your relationships.

The Bible offers three metaphors that teach us God's view of life:

1. Life on earth is a Test.
   God continually tests people's character, faith, obedience, love, integrity, and loyalty. God constantly watches your response to people, problems, success, conflict, illness, disappointment, and even the weather! He even watches even your simplest actions and behavior, such as when you open a door for others, when you pick up a piece of trash, or when you're polite toward a clerk or waitress. When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.
   
   Sometimes God intentionally draws back. A very important test is how you act when you can't feel God's presence in your life.
   
   The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests to be greater than the grace he gives you.
    
2. Life on earth is a Trust.
   God has entrusted gifts to our care and management. We are stewards of whatever God gives us. We never really own anything during our brief stay on earth. God just loans it to us, for us to enjoy, while we're here. At the end of your life on earth you will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well you handled what God entrusted to you.
   
   Most people fail to realize that money is both a test and a trust from God. God watches how we use money to test how trustworthy we are. The more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be. God says there is a direct relationship between how you use your worldly wealth and the quality of your spiritual life ("true riches").

Question to Consider:    
What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God?

Verse to Remember:         
Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones.

Luke 16:10