Service is a responsibility and a
privilege. But how can that be? Are not both ideas opposing spectrum of a
singular idea of its own? How many times throughout our childhood have we heard
the phrase, “such and such is a privilege, not a right,” or “this and that was
your responsibility.” It seems baffling to understand responsibility and
privilege in the manner that Christ taught the crowd as He passed through
Jericho in Luke 19. In the parable, Jesus tells us that the minas given to the
servants were both their privilege and their responsibility-they could do with
them what they pleased. What I find interesting about this Scripture is that
the servants were not told that there would be repercussions for their actions
with the money entrusted to them; they were just given the money and told to
make money with it. Of course when the servants were gathered to give a report
to what they had done with their investments, the king starts to hand out
rewards (I’m sure at this point, the servant who hid the mina away must have
been kicking himself). Not only was this investing exercise their
responsibility, it was also their privilege. The king was known as a hard man,
so all that the servants could understand from his actions was the
responsibility involved. I’m sure great fear gripped their hearts as they each
handed the mina over to the investment…what if their investment failed? Would
the king demand recompense of them for what was lost? I’m sure this is exactly
what the third servant was thinking as he hid the mina away in the
handkerchief. It is kind of like entering into the living room on Christmas Day
and seeing various gifts of differing shapes and sizes under the tree. As each
gift is handed out we may notice that some have more than others, or that some
gifts look larger. Regardless, if we focus on this and not on the giver of the
gift, we fail to capture the privilege aspect of the whole process. The size of
the gift isn’t the matter; it is the person who gave it. If we all considered
the person who gave the gift, we would understand that what is inside is good
and a blessing to us despite the size or shape of it. So how do we consider the
gift(s) God has given us? Scripture tells us that He has gifted us with the
ministry of reconciliation. How will we invest this gift? Will we be distracted
by the gift and/or ministry of another individual? We have no need to fear the
giver of the gift, because we know that our Father gives good gifts to His
children. He, like our earthly fathers does have expectations for how we use
our gifts. Will we invest it in others, bringing a multitude into the Kingdom? Or
will we hide the gift that we hold away until He calls for a report? In Peru,
every gift that is given is greatly appreciated and put to good use. As I minister,
I need to remember that the gift God has entrusted me with is worth far more
than ten minas-they are the lives of people-His people…how will I invest in
them? The end result is not of my concern, only the investment. My
responsibility-no, my privilege in Peru is to invest the gifts given to me by
God to invest in people, and leave the results up to Him. So I ask you this:
what gifts have you been given to invest? How are you investing them? I think
in this Scripture, Jesus is telling us to ignore the “do not open until
Christmas” tags.
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