“I was afraid I would lose your
money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.” Matthew 25:25
He stood trembling, knees
knocking, a lump in his throat the size of an egg. He clutched the single gold
nugget his master had entrusted to him and waited his turn. He still had it!
He’d checked on it every day in its hiding place under the steps, fearful
someone might steal it or he might lose it. But here it was and he hoped his
master would be pleased. But fear rose in his chest as he listened to his
master praise his fellow servants. They’d taken chances, invested their sums,
and the master was rewarding them. They each had piles of gold in front of them
and suddenly his single nugget looked like the enemy.
In
Jesus’ parable, the amount each servant received was irrelevant. Jesus pointed
out that the master expected equal dedication, not equal results. “I’m only a
mechanic,” one servant might say. “I fix trucks and go home. I can’t do
anything for God.” “I’m only a teacher,” another might say. “I’m afraid to talk
about Jesus. I might get fired.” “I’m only a mom…a bus driver…a CEO…” When we
look at our single gold nugget, we can be tempted to discount it as unworthy of
investment. But when we remember that it belongs to the Master, we realize we
do not have the option of burying it under the steps. He entrusted it to us and
expects us to invest it so that when He returns, He can say to us proudly,
“Well done, faithful servant!”
Final
Thought: When Jesus
returns, will He be able to say to you, “Well done, faithful servant?”
.
No comments:
Post a Comment