In Luke 19:11-27, Jesus tells the parable of Ten Minas, in which a master of noble birth (Himself) goes away to another city (Heaven) to become King and leaves his servants (us) the task of safeguarding and investing money (the Gospel) while He is gone. Upon His return, he speaks 6 words I long to hear:
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
There is nothing like these words that make my eyes tear up and my heart fill with expectation. To be found faithful by my master is a profound joy and deep desire upon my heart.
How are you investing the “ten minas” that God has given you?
Do you long to hear these same 6 words?
What does it look like to be a faithful servant today?
Who are you investing your “minas” into?
The Wicked Servant
One striking element to me in this passage is the master’s response to the servant who merely maintained his investment. Jesus refers to him as a “wicked servant”. Harsh? Perhaps. Yet, if this is how the master, now King, responds to the servant, it makes me question if we haven’t placed a sufficient weight or priority on putting our experience of The Gospel in our lives to work.
It seems that we, as Christians, are in danger of misappropriating our energy and emphasis. The Gospel must be shared; and a danger that I see in our current society is that, in the United States, we believe we are a “christian nation”. America’s general consensus regarding the Gospel is, “We’ve already heard it and are uninterested,” which only proves that they never heard the Gospel — I know this because the Gospel, in it’s whole truth, is compelling and mind-blowing.
The Gospel
A King made himself a servant, enduring all the earthly pains that we experience. He freely offered himself as a sacrifice, being beaten and tortured on my (and your) behalf, to the point of death on a crucifix. But conquering death, he arose on the third day and re-appeared to hundreds of His followers. With grace and forgiveness, he invited all to be joint heirs in the Kingdom, leaving us with His Holy Spirit. He is returning and His Kingdom is at hand; we are entrusted with the glorious task of being ambassadors of His Kingdom until He returns. Our joy is not heaven and clouds and harps… it’s the mighty embrace of a King who is available to intimately engage on a daily basis and a front-row seat at watching Him bring His Kingdom to earth, one person at a time.
Pain, tears, sin and death are currently all being put in their proper place, as Christ’s footstool. Soon, every knee and every tongue will bow in humble adoration of the true King. There is nothing keeping you from His presence. He wants you, now… completely. He knows you and the darkest secrets of your past and they are not too much for His grace. He has a plan for your life, if you’ll only surrender to your creator — then, He will guide you into the fullness that you were created to be. Not a personality-drained God-robot, but a uniquely created expression of the One True and Holy God.
Really. I’m serious. He has SO MUCH in store for you.
Closing Prayer
“Lord, I pray that our lives would be a demonstration of the Gospel to those around us, but also that you would awaken our spirits to the opportunities around us to be your mouthpiece in gently and diligently guiding seekers into full devotion to Christ… for your namesake and glory!”
“Lead us into a full knowledge of you. We surrender our hearts and our will to you, and trust your plan for our lives. Have your will, that in the end you may be able to speak these words over me, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.'”