On Loan

 

And he [Job] said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

—Job 1:21

Regardless of your political leanings, when you hear the phrase: “Talent on loan from God!” you immediately recognize the slogan of the radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh. The first impression that many have on hearing that phrase is to think of it as a boastful and arrogant statement. On closer examination, however, those of us who believe in a Creator God who made us all in His image and gave us all that we are and all that we have can agree that we all can and should make this same declaration.

Not only do we live with the loan of our gifts and talents given to us by God, we live with so much more that we borrow from, yet only for a time. All of our possessions, all of our experiences, all of our education have been loaned to us for use in living our lives for the glory of God.

In my particular situation, I may not have the difficulty that some may have with thinking in terms of temporary, or borrowed, living arrangements. I have lived far more years of my adult life in rented properties than in properties that my husband and I have “owned.” Even those houses that we once owned now have new owners. So, too, that childhood home for most of us likely has new residents since we have grown and moved away.

In some respect, I considered the thousands of children I taught in public elementary and middle school as “my” kids. However, in moments of clarity, I remember that, in introducing school chorus concerts, I would often thank parents for loaning their beautiful children to me to teach. Though I didn’t have children of my own, I could “borrow” some from others, if only for a season.

And, what about those other “things” that God has loaned us and of which He is actually the sole proprietor?

• The sixth and a half years that I held the position of organist, using the largest organ in the tri-state area (Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio)—a five manual, 6,000 pipe instrument. I certainly had no ownership rights to that position, nor to that magnificent instrument.
  
  
• Nor did I have any rights to the beautiful Kawai grand piano that I had helped select and on which I played for fifteen years at another church.
  
  

I merely “borrowed” these positions and these instruments in order to use them in the praise of our God and for His glory.

So, what do we learn from thinking about the use of “all things borrowed” in this life?

For one, we need to express our gratitude to God, more and more, as we realize all that He has given us to use and enjoy. Secondly, we need to hold the precious gifts He has given in a very light grasp because He may choose to take them from us at any time in exchange for something else. Thirdly, we need to hold no bitterness if God chooses to take these borrowed things away.

Like Job, no matter what God chooses to give us for a season and later take away from us, we should learn to bless the Lord for His gracious borrowed gifts, we should enjoy those gifts to the fullest, and then we should always, and without hesitation, submit to His wisdom and to His perfect will for us in every situation.