1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 / Matthew 25:14-30
Life is often given many analogies, and one of which is that of the waters of a river.
Life is said to be like the waters of a river. The waters are always flowing, and in one direction.
There are some certainties in that it is always flowing in one direction and it flows from a source to the sea.
Yet there are also some differences. It is said that you don't step into the same river twice, even though it may be at the exact same spot.
Because some things have changed - the waters are not the same, the river bed has changed, the surroundings have changed.
Similarly life has some certainties, yet life is always changing. We are the same person as yesterday and yet in some ways we have changed.
The gospel parable talks about duty and responsibility. Yet there is also this aspect of the necessity of change.
With whatever duty and responsibility we are given, we must also want to grow with that duty and responsibility and change into a better person.
That is what life is all about also. Life with its certainties of duties and responsibilities and accountability also has that dynamic change that helps us understand life and live it more meaningfully.
Not to accept any of these is to bury our life in the ground and that will be like a living death.
The God we believe in is the God of the living, not the God of the dead.