Parable of the Three Servants:
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Would living a clean life without committing major crippling sins out of the fear of God be enough for a Christian? Would not that be the same as the servant who was given the one bag of silver (one talent), who buried it out of fear that should he lose it, his master would punish him. For he saw his master as a harsh man who liked to get a return without sweating his own brow. Isn't God, though just, harsh out his justness, for he punishes man for his sin? When we see the outcome for this servant though he had preserved his masters bag of silver, he had not lost a single piece and returned it in kind to his master upon his return, I am afraid a nominal Christian life is not enough. The master had left the shares of silver with the three servants for a very long time. Two of them successfully doubled the shares given them. One kept it intact. The master's response to the one who kept the talent given him intact was that he had ample time to get even a small return, if only the servant had just deposited the silver in a bank. The interest over the long period would have given his master some increase.
Getting through each day as a Christian is not enough. A Christian has to bring some increase for his master, even if it is a nominal increase for the kingdom of God. You may not be a great speaker, nor a great writer; your people skills may be lacking; you may not be much of an influence in your community; you may lack self esteem and lacking in faith. Yet there is something you can do for the kingdom of God in a small way. Jesus Christ came in to this world to pay a very steep price for our freedom from the bondage of sin. He died for us, rose from death and returned to heaven as our high priest, pleading mercy on our behalf. One day he will return to collect the dividends. What have you done with the talent of silver given to you?
HRockChurch - Set my heart on fire
No comments:
Post a Comment