On Thursdays I get the privilege of working from home and caring for my mother in law who is joyfully anticipating leaving this earth and joining her savior as her time on earth is coming to an end.
This means a lot of quiet time and I'm thankful to capture this time to pray for her, the church, read, study, work on church systems, write and pray some more.
"The Master said 'Well done my good and faithful servant!'"
I think about this phrase a lot because I wasted decades of my Christian life pursuing the form of Christianity rather than the heart of my Master. I feel like we risk falling in to the comforts of American "Churchianity".
The phrase is from a parable told by Jesus in Matthew chapter 25:14-30 (included at the end of this post).
It's a parable about some employees who proved either trustworthy or untrustworthy to their boss based on how they took care of the bosses treasure. One was told "well done good and faithful servant, because you have been faithful with little, I have set you over much".
Something inside of me aches to hear "Well done Mike. I'm proud of you". from God. I get choked up even thinking about it now.
I know that I have such a limited time on this earth, I wrestle with whether or not I'm being a good and faithful servant to God. Our biggest failure would be to take the precious thing (gold in the parable) God has given us to use for His purpose and bury it in the ground and thinking that we are being "responsible" and calling that good. However that's who the master called evil.
Here is one example where the "safe" way can be the direct enemy of the way the master would call "good and faithful".
I've spent years of my life being drawn in to the cozy and safe places of Christian cultures. Of course I wanted to hide there! Christians are very nice. They have to be. They aren't rude, aren't going to ask me to do anything illegal and if I do make a mistake, God himself tells them that they can't reject me!
One place we bury our gold is in Christian clubs that invite people to a life disconnected from the world which we are here to serve.
My deepest desire for my time on earth is to be useful to God. I want join God in bringing His Kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. I want to be engaged in bringing HOPE to people who are struggling in this world! I want to be a constant reminder to people of the hope available in Jesus. I want to serve as a conduit for God to show His love His children.
There are many programs, movements, clubs, tribes and groups that may be comfortable places for us to hide, but it wasn't the gold in the ground of comfortable places that made the master call the servant "good and faithful". It was his usefulness to master in trusting, risking and working to multiply the treasure that prompted that affirmation of the master.
Our gold is the gospel of Jesus. The good news that He is the answer to the questions our hearts are longing to have answered.
We are not called to go and share the gospel with other Christians in a safe bubble of christian community. If we share the gospel only among safe Christians we end up focusing on the wrong thing. It becomes this strange and even mystical effort to manufacture Holy Spirit experiences that may give us goose bumps but does it help us invite our neighbors to church? Does it help us be present with and empathize with the struggles of our neighbors?
With my growing understanding of who I am in Christ and what God has called me to do with my time in earth, I just don't see God commanding me to ensure that I have a full Christian social calendar, lots of Christian friends and spend all of my free time with other Christians judging proper worship styles, bible interpretations and rightly classifying different theologies.
Now, along the road and on my journey to make disciples of Jesus, I am invited to live my life in the spirit of God and along the way, I need true fellowship, iron sharpening iron, encouragement of a church family, inspiration from sound personal leading by someone who knows me and loves me.
But to take what God has given me and bury it in safe and sheltered "christian life style", is a complete waste of the only chance we have to shape eternity. I honestly don't think God would call me trustworthy with what he has given me if I am not useful with it for His purposes.
Continuing in that Matthew 25 parable, the servant answered: "I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground". And the master responded "You wicked and slothful servant".
Did you get that? His fear is what made him slothful. Is it fear that makes us avoid the word 'evangelism'?
Comfort vs Community:
True Christian Community has a mission that is outside of itself.
I LOVE THE CHURCH!
Don't get me wrong, I value community, theological discussion and worshipful, potluckful christian community. I absolutely love it! I need it! Without it, the journey to disciple making would be impossible, difficult, lonely and full of mistakes. However these "cushioned" buried environments aren't what makes me useful for the Master.
We get to help God love His people! When we do that we are a light to their world. (MT 5:14) But unless the light is coming to them and loving them to it, that light seems far off, unattainable and offers no hope whatsoever.
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
As a Pastor, I pray that those whom I serve will not get wrapped up in the delusion of phony christianity where this is no risk, no sacrifice and no cost. We have been given the precious Gold of the very Holy Spirit of the God of the universe! Jesus reminds us that He has all authority in heaven and earth and he promises to be with us until the end of the age! So we get the privilege to take our treasure and go and make disciples of Jesus.
Fear stops us, and Jesus offers us himself to remove all fear. He says "I am with you, I have the authority".
But we so easily elevate our own fears & insecurities and allow them to overcome our desire to do God's will.
So in that fear we look for something we will call "the good commission" so we don't have to do what we fear. Which we will call "the great commission". (The enemy of the great is always the good, because when we do good we deaden the voice of the calling to great).
We can get wrapped up in a false sense mission by selling out our calling to christian living. It's time to redefine Christianity not by how much time we spend with like minded people, but by how much time we spend loving the hurting ( those who need the good news of Jesus.).
At the end of the day, THAT is what will make God say "Well done my good and faithful servant". That is what my soul I longs to hear from my loving Father.
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
If I accomplish anything as your Pastor in your life, my prayer is that I inspire you to live a life where your love for the lost is only eclipsed by your love for God. I believe that if just a fraction of the people I am privileged to shepherd can grasp this with their whole heart, we can shatter the gates of hell that are holding us back and then we will honor our master and hear those words "well done my good and faithful servant".
Pastor Mike.
Here is the parable. Drink it in.
"The Parable of the Talents
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ "
https://ref.ly/Mt25.14-30;esv
