Daniel 5:25-28 – And this is the writing that was inscribed, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter, MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and been found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. (RSV)

At an intersection near my home there is a box holding, I suppose, electrical connections for the traffic lights. On this someone has written the word MENE. Every time I pass by, I wonder if the writer knows that this word comes from the book of Daniel. As a boy, my mother used to tell me the story of the handwriting on the wall at Belshazzar's feast, singing the old hymn, "At the feast of Belshazzar, with a thousand of his lords", as told in Daniel, chapter 5, and always the point was made that God's judgement on that arrogant king was: "You have been weighed in the balances and been found wanting."

Today as we concentrate, as we should, on God's love and willingness to forgive, we are also in danger of forgetting that He is also a "jealous" God. As Jesus said, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48 NIV) Like any earthly father, God will always love us, no matter what, but He will always expect us to do the very best with the gifts He has given to us. Let us pray that when He weighs our deeds, we will not be found wanting! Let us not let Him down!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, breathe Your energy and wisdom into our life, that, in all we do and say, we may be faithful to Jesus, and use all our gifts, talents and powers to His glory and to the accomplishing of Your purposes in the world. Amen.

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