If I read the Bible every year for 20 years, know it very well and have a strong understanding of it, but come to the Lord at the end of my life and have nothing to show for it – no life change, no impact on anyone around me, no service, no generosity, no love – what would He say? “Well done”? “Well done you are truly spiritual”? I don’t believe so. What about the parable of the talents? The master gave different amounts of money, different values of investment, to different servants, and He told them He would be back. Two of the servants doubled the amount given to them, yet the third only brought back the origianl value. He simply kept the money, hid it in the ground, and returned it when the master came back. He dedicated no time, effort, or thought to stewarding the investment wisely. He put no skill, energy, passion, or inspiration into it. I believe God gave us a talent, an investment. We have the Bible, the very words of God written to us, at our fingertips. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, with 176 verses. 170 mention the word of God and describe its value and worth. Some of us have grown up with this gift, some of us have had it for only a short time, and some have just begun the process of learning what impact the Bible can have on our lives. We have the Bible as a tool for knowledge, wisdom and understanding, but also to use as a tool for investment in others. It is made to take risks with, plant seeds with, be bold and daring with. It calls us to put in effot, devote time, and multiply praise. It asks you to dedicate yourself to bringing new people into the kingdom and church. What’s interesting is that 2 of the servants earned just ONE more of what they were given. They multiplied the original value by two. What if, at the end of our life, we could stand before God having devoted ourselves to prayer and scripture and have with us one. more. person. One more soul entering the gates of hearven alongside us. What if we muultiplied praise just by two. If our life was spent trying to be like Jesus and we poured into and discipled just one person. The master said to the servants that doubled the talents, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter the joy of your master.” The servant who only returned the original value was cast out into darkness. If, when Jesus comes back, and all we have to give to him is our biblical knowledge, hours of devotionals, and scripture that has only been hidden in our hearts, but have not love or investment, or service, or time to show for it, we will not get to taste the joy of the master.
Being on the mission field is hard. It’s really hard because I still sometimes feel helpless and even hopeless. There are SO many people that I still can’t reach or talk to or share the gospel with. Our ministry hosts showed us a short video filled with statistics about how many people will never even hear the name of Jesus. 2,000,000,000 people. How do you hear that and not feel your heart break? I was so shaken by this video and was struggling to see how my efforts were doing anything, or helping in any way. But just at the right time, God gave me a new understanding of this parable that I’ve heard my whole life to show me exactly why I am where I am. The things I’m doing actually count. They matter. They are pleasing to the Lord.
