Responding to the Master
Responding
How we think about God may be as significant as what we do in response to Him. Not necessarily in terms of theological or doctrinal correctness, if we're just talking about mastering the "information" but rather in terms of the kind of Person that we believe God to be (which is what real theology and doctrinal studies should be all about). Even if we don't always get the details right, how we relate to God, and the kind of Being we believe God to be, is huge.
Jesus tells a story about how the kind of Person God is impacts and shapes our lives. It matters whether or not we think of God that has given us a huge investment that is to be shared, risks taken, investments made . . . or whether God is making a list and checking it twice, and it is all about our performance - therefore we can't afford to risk anything. It matters whether or not we see God as Someone Who in love invested all of heaven in the lives of people who seemed so undeserving, or as a God Who is looking for ways to weed out the undeserving and only let the perfect and flawless make it through. It matters as to whether or not we are willing to risk and invest and really love - and, scripture tells us, the way we will be known by others as belonging to Him, is our ability to love.
Where do we make our investments? Is our spiritual life all about self protection and avoiding risk, thinking that it is all about making ourselves look good when we face the scrutiny of a harsh judge at the end . . . or is it about investing in the lives of others, even when risky, even when it might cost, because we know that is the way God has invested in us? That is what the point of the parable is about - about how our perceptions are often the opposite of what God values. That is what Pastor Jon invites us to consider this morning.
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Matthew 25
NIV
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’