What Were You Thinking?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at the plans and the people in our lives and the work of God in choosing them. We look at how we invest our time and money and energy and how God invests in us. And when we look at these situations it might just bogle our minds enough to bring us to our knees and ask God and ourselves. What Were You Thinking?
Scripture: Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NRSV)
“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:14-30 (NRSV)
Message: Ok, God’s ways are not our ways for sure, and life can get crazy as well. We can get off track and even misinterpret scripture and perhaps especially the parables. Sometimes we can be guilty of misunderstanding something that is very simple by thinking that it must be more difficult than it really is. Sometimes we can investigate Jesus words and see the things we want to see instead of seeing the truth. That is why we must rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us into the truth that Jesus speaks. Here the context is an important element in understanding Jesus’ Parables. It goes like this: The followers of Jesus now number in the thousands and both the religious authorities and civil authorities have taken notice. Jesus followers want to proclaim Jesus King of Jerusalem but both the civil and religious authorities fear the results of such an action. Both civil and religious people reject Jesus and see Him as a misguided wandering teacher. Few believe he is the Messiah and few considered him a king. But they all made wrong assumptions about Jesus, detractors and followers alike. And that is the context of today’s parable that has a different version in Luke to confound the problem of interpretation. And part of the problem is the translation. In English we commonly say that people receive talents of music, business sense, leadership and athleticism. In fact, the word talent is derived from this parable about the use of our capabilities. But a talent was first a measure of weight. And then came to mean a measure of gold amounting to around a $1,000. So, 2,000 years ago when interest rates were typically very high this was a lot of money. What Jesus’ point is regarding the talents are that they are meant to be used and, to not employ an opportunity means to lose it. Money not invested is only potential energy. So, Jesus does not mean to convey that God is harsh but that when we blame God for our failures we lose the more. And get this…that God would have lost his investment in us had He not sent His Son to save us. The clear indication is that our God is an encouragement who rewards those who venture out in faith for life is like a fertile field to those who would sow seeds of our faith. The reward of faith is joy in the story and the thrust of the story is a plea to live life courageously. Friends, God the Father has sacrificed His son so that you and I might be forgiven of our sins and have eternal life as servants of His Kingdom. That is courage. So too God has entrusted to us our lives to invest. And, the seeds we plant may lose their life but, in the harvest, we receive rich grace to feed our very souls. Friends, sometimes we like to question God’s ways. We wonder why God entrusted the fate of the world to a bunch of uneducated fisherman. We wonder why we have been entrusted to share the Gospel today, pathetic as we are. But friends, each of us who has trusted Jesus as our Savior have been given a golden opportunity. And if we take the opportunity to share we might just realize that this parable is all about Jesus. We are to apply its message in the wisdom of Holy Spirit to glorify God.
Pray we keep a focus on Jesus. Pray we not make the wrong assumptions about God. Pray we invest our life to glorify God. Pray we remember God’s standards are different than ours. Pray we not fail to see that we too can breathe life into the lethargy of our world. Pray we trust God. Pray we believe that with God’s help we can make a difference. Pray we invest our life courageously in the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray we realize that even though we are not wise and powerful and of noble birth that the Prince of Peace is.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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