The Parable of the Talents

Met with a brother this morning and we looked at the parable of the talents starting in Matthew 25:14. ( In ancient usage a talent was a weight of silver or gold of approximately 75 pounds or 34 kilos) A property owner gives various sums of money ( five talents, two talents, one talent) to his servants according to their ability. The first two engage in business ( put the talents to use) and make equivalent amounts with it. The last hides his in the ground. When one examines this through the lense of 1 John 2:3, "And by this we know that we have come to know him ( Jesus) if we obey his commandments." (ESV), it appears that the first two servants truly know their master and what he wants and do it. The third thinks that he knows the master buty as the parable unfolds it becomes clear that he has a distorted image. The first two servants are commended for putting their talents to use ( Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.) The third is excoriated and punished. Even though he received the least amount of wealth to work with, he was still supposed to put it to use. I doubt that most believers are wealthy financially but we all have been given some talent or knowledge or ability. We need to use that to bless our brothers and sisters, and to minister to those who are perishing. "For the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God." ( 1 Corinthians 1:18) Am I, are you using the gifts and talents that God has given you for His purposes? If we look at your life as a car, who is driving? Do we want to drive ( do what we want to do) and tell God to sit in the passenger seat? Or are we willing to give Him the keys and let Him take us where He wants to go? Or are we trying to get into the driver's seat with Him and grab the wheel?

Going to Church?

Today a friend asked my counsel about a young unsaved man that he is ministering to. The question revolved around should he have lunch one on one with his friend after the church service or go with groups. Cautioning him that my response would be radical ( he knows me quite well), I questioned whether it was beneficial for him to take his friend to "church" at all. Heresy! Let's think about this. Many people nowadays have never been in a "church service." We are asking them to do something they have probably never done before, be with people they don't know, sing songs they don't know, and listen to someone talk about a Book that they have never read. Many of us are perfectly comfortable with this because we have been doing it for decades. But newcomers may not be. We then hope that the person will respond to something and that overworked and probably underpaid pastors will take it from there. While I'm sure that any genuinely converted pastor would delight in ministering the gospel to someone, the reality is that they have a thousand other expectations to meet, whether their own or that of their congregation. The pastor is the principal player in a weekly or perhaps more often major production. Where does our new "seeker" fit into that? Is there a different model? The spiritually healthiest churches that I know meet for a general gathering once a month. Unlike us however, they are in one another's lives constantly.This can be small group, one on one discipleship or more casual encounters in their homes. A close examination of Hebrews 10:24-25, the passage always used to encourage "church" attendance says to "stir one another up to love and good works," and to "encourage one another." (ESV) Would it not be more fruitful if there were many people who had been discipled to the point where they could minister to an unsaved person, lead them to Christ, and nurture them spiritually for a season, thus preparing them for the strange rituals and traditions that they would experience in a church setting? The other reality of bringing someone to church is that we are teaching them on the practical level that the act of going, which for most people is a rather passive experience, is the core or heart of Christianity. Think about it. Isn't this what many "Christians" believe, based on their actions? What about personal relationship with Christ? Both in my own life for far too long and in that of many others that i have known, their personal relationship with Christ was shaky to minimal. Here is the question that God used to change my heart. If I don't want to spend meaningful time with Him one on one in this life, why would I want to live with Him for all eternity?

Jonah

A disciple and I have been working our way through study of the so-called Minor Prophets. This week we looked at Jonah, the most well known of them all. Several themes emerged. One was the compassion of God on those who did not believe in Him nor follow His commands. Although Jonah is one of three of the Minor prophets who were in the Northern Kingdom of Israel ( Hosea and Amos are the others), he was not sent to the people of Israel but rather to the people of Nineveh, a major city of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians were infamous for their savage cruelty towards those whom they conquered, the ancient world's equivalent to Isis today. Along the way God responds to the reverential fear of the pagan sailors of the ship that was carrying Jonah away from Nineveh. The second major theme is God's extraordinary patience with Jonah. He clearly knows God's will but does the exact opposite. After being involved in a storm and then swallowed by a great fish, Jonah goes to Nineveh to preach repentance in probably the shortest sermon ever preached. "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown." ( Jonah 3:4 ESV) When they respond Jonah complains angrily to God, first for God's mercy and then that the plant which God used to shelter him has withered. ( Chapter 4) Yet after all this disobedience and ungodly anger God reasons with Jonah, asking him several questions. ( 4:4,9,11) These interchanges lead to a third theme. Jonah does have a personal relationship with God and feels the freedom to be very candid and expressive with Him. This is a good example even if the sentiments expressed by Jonah are not in accordance with His nature and goodness. The story of Jonah is also convicting. Jonah did not want to get out of his personal comfort zone. He did not have compassion on the perishing but was content with his own relationship with God. Are we not often like this? Are we not unwilling to make sacrifices of our time, energy and comfort so that God might use us to usher people into His family? Last year a pastor from Nigeria mentioned to me that the greatest sin of the Church in America was that we rarely minister the gospel other than to those already saved in our comfy church buildings on Sunday.