And I begin to wonder; has all of this comfort I arrange in
my personal life become the same approach I am taking to my spiritual
life? I tell myself that I need all
these niceties in my physical existence because over the years my health
conditions have mandated them. Indeed I
would probably not even own this chair I sit in had it not been for blown discs
and bad feet. The comfortable little
nest I have prepared just so, actually serves as an offset for the degradation
of age no one can ignore. But then, I
have been a Christian for a very long time as well. And while the pandemic has driven believers to
worship at home via Zoom, Teams, or Youtube – that could hardly be my excuse
for a lack of church attendance. Me
celebrating in person with the body of Christ has a very “special occasion”
flair to it. Baptisms, holidays, little
children putting on programs, or the odd Christian musical artist I enjoy - seem
to be the only events enough to get me out of the house in order to worship. But the mundane week-to-week kind of worship
just never quite seems to be enough. And
if church attendance is how we measure spiritual activity – we have a crappy
yardstick, and even by that measure, I would not measure up.
At its core, Christianity is about others. How we love others, how we care for
others. On that score, my wife is a
naturally social person, her normal personality is to gravitate towards an
extroverted empathetic style. She needs
church. I tend to keep it from her. So her worship consists of the semi-rare
discussion with me on Sabbath’s, our prayer time for others, and then it is
back to watching recipes and Malamutes on Youtube which I can only assume is
her form of relaxation, but worship?
Again, if I am to be more concerned about her than I am about me, I
should be getting her to church every week, at least outside of this Pandemic, for
which I am guilty of appreciating the inability to do so. My eldest daughter took over teaching my
class at my church. Yes, there was a
time when I was quite active in church, holding several leadership and teaching
positions for more than a few years. But
focusing on my daughter, she faithfully goes (outside of this Covid timespan)
to church every week and teaches what is now her class without ever missing a
session. I go sometimes to support her,
but that often turns out to be a bad idea.
Cause I cannot keep my mouth shut, so I tend to derail where she might
have gone in her class had I not been present.
If Christianity is about others, even about family, I am still not
measuring up very well.
So when I use the phrase “do nothing” Christians, what comes
to your mind? Do you, like I have above,
first look in the mirror and find your own life wanting? It is all too easy to take the other
course. Instead of focusing on our own short
comings, we tend to focus only on our accomplishments. Taking credit for things we probably
shouldn’t be taking credit for.
Nevertheless we counter the arguments of “do nothing” with the list of
endless missions we are a part of, whether financially, or personally. We reason that we are basically “good people”
with a few nagging problems. But we
“help” a lot of other people in one way or another. We return the skills and abilities God has
entrusted in us, at least in some form in His service. And so because we have mission, we refuse to
call ourselves “do nothing”, reasoning we must be doing something right. But how much do we do? If this were a financial analogy, how sound
an investment would you be for God to invest in you. Luke recorded a parable in his gospel letter
to his friend about what we believe and why, on just this topic.
It picks up in the nineteenth chapter in verse 11 saying … “And as they
heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to
Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately
appear. [verse 12] He said therefore, A
certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and
to return. [verse 13] And he called his ten
servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I
come.” Jesus offers us this
parable because too many just assumed the Kingdom of Heaven would just arrive
at any moment, all too soon, and before the salvation of our hearts and minds
had any chance to really take hold. So
he compares us, His servantry, as being entrusted by a Nobleman who goes away
into a far country (that one is apt, Jesus sure seems like He is very far from
us now), but before He leaves, He gives or entrusts each of us with money or
gifts. His direction is to “occupy” till
He returns. You could easily associate
the word Occupy with Occupation, or please Work these investments in you on My
behalf until I return. Each of you have
received something.
What I fail to read in this opening, is a direction from
Jesus (or the Nobleman in this story), for me to take His investment in me, and
prop it up with comfy pillows, warm blankets, remote controls, and the great
time suck that is Netflix or HBO. I do
not see direction there to get comfortable at all. To take time out for “me” time anywhere in
this opening. In fact, it appears to be
direction to “do something”. Now it does
not say exactly “what” to do. But it
does set a certain level of expectation that during His absence from us in
person, we are to be His representatives, and work His gifts invested in us,
until He returns to collect the fruits of our labors. There is that nasty word again; “labor”. Pretty sure I cannot turn “couch potato” into
an official position in the church. Even
if by numbers, there are a lot of us. Too
many of us. And just because I watch
PureFlix on Sabbath does not negate the direction in this story to do a little
more than that.
Jesus continues in verse 14 saying … “But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him,
saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. [verse 15] And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having
received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him,
to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had
gained by trading.” Wow. This parable went sideways very quickly. No sooner is Jesus out of sight, and out of
mind – than “His citizens” – send a message after Him of total rebellion. His citizens, folks that live in His world,
have life because of His governance and mercy decide; [hey, screw you. We want our freedom from your
oppression. We want to do, what we want
to do. So just don’t bother coming
back. We are happier without you and
your oppressive laws and rules and restrictions.] This is going to be a tough crowd. The real question that should stick in the
back of our minds, is whether these rebellious citizens are in the church or
just outside of it. After all, how could
you even be a citizen if you never believed at all.
But as we step away from all out rebellion for a
moment. There are still those of us, who
will now be called back in front of Jesus, to give account, for what we have
done with His gifts and investments made in us - now - at the moment of His
returning. Think about that for a
moment. If redemption is the ultimate
goal. Then at the moment of Christ’s
return, we are either redeemed through belief, or we are not. We have either allowed Jesus to save us,
trusting in Him to do so. Or we did not,
perhaps relying on self to do that job that only Jesus ever could, or worse
throwing in the towel with the citizens who have declared for all out rebellion
in His absence. But if we widen our lens
just a little. Assume you are in the
saved column of the spreadsheet. Who is
there with you? Is your wife, husband,
or significant other there with you hand in hand – or are they effectively left
behind, because you could never muster the time to love them to the foot of
Jesus, and in to the Kingdom with you hand in hand. If you are there, and they are not. At the moment of Christ’s return, there is no
more time to influence that outcome.
Maybe instead of a romantic love we are taking about a parental one, or
a familial one, or just the love of a friend.
If you are there and they are not, the time is over to change that
outcome forever. What is done then, is
done forever.
That will be the measure by which we will be called into
account. I have to ask myself; Who will
I have helped to save by being the couch potato that seems to suit me so
well? Anyone? When I “do me”, or tell others to “do you”,
are I not effectively abandoning the whole of Christianity in favor of
selfishness that bares no fruit at the end of all things. Perhaps instead we should “do Christ” or at
least follow His lead, and get up, whether it is easy or not, but get up, and
get out of our comfort zone, and do “something” that leads others to the feet
of Jesus to find the salvation we all so desperately need. It is not enough to just find ourselves not
part of the open rebellion against Jesus.
If we love like Jesus. Then we
cannot be content to sit by and watch this precious minutes of our lives drift
away one by one into the abyss of self-service and self-entertainment to the
gain of no other souls, perhaps not even our own. We were asked to work, to bring forward
returns on His investment. But when He
calls us forward to testify, will we have anything to say outside of lame
claims of mission and ministry we knew we were never fully invested in, at
least not fully invested in our hearts.
If we were invested, our lives would be different.
Nevertheless, the story continues in verse 16 saying … “Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten
pounds. [verse 17] And he said unto him, Well,
thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou
authority over ten cities. [verse 18] And the
second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. [verse 19] And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.” So it is possible to bring forward a return
on investment. We know that is
true. We read about it, or watch a
video, or a movie, about some modern Christian, who left everything they knew,
abandoned it all for the call of Christ, and went and served, and made a
difference in this world. And you and I
treat the hearing of those stories, as if in some way, the hearing is enough of
an accomplishment to offer. When Jesus
returns He looks at us, and asks what did you do. And we respond, well, I watched several
Youtube videos on various missions, and Christian missionaries who did great
works. Jesus says, I am glad you got
hope from their testimonies. But what is
yours, what did you “do”? What will be
your answer, especially in the light of knowing it is possible, there are
stories of those who have done it and are still doing it.
Jesus continues in verse 20 saying … “And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound,
which I have kept laid up in a napkin: [verse 21] For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that
thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. [verse 22] And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge
thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up
that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: [verse 23] Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that
at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?” Several things to unpack here. First, like me, there are far too many of us
Christians content to “do nothing” with what God has invested in us. The best we do is “some”. The reality of what we do is stash our gifts
in a napkin and hope to hold on to them, undamaged until He returns. Hearts never having been transformed. But when an untransformed heart looks at God,
it does not see love, it sees rules, and unfair restrictions. The difference between this kind of servant,
and the citizens who demanded outright rebellion, is really not all that
much. Both picture the Nobleman ruler as
austere, demanding, and unfair. So Jesus
then asks the logical question, if that is how you picture me, then why did you
not do even the least little bit, to keep the big-bad-God, from striking you
down? Not even a little? It makes no sense, if you believe God is
horrible a ruler. Seems like you would
do at least something to keep Him from getting angry at you.
Jesus continues in verse 24 saying … “And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound,
and give it to him that hath ten pounds. [verse 25] (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) [verse
26] For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath
shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken
away from him. [verse 27] But those mine
enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay
them before me.” Imagine how hard
these remedies are on the heart of God.
But when the mission of redemption is on the line, we do not have the
luxury of dilly-dally where it comes to doing something to save others. Their very souls depend upon it. And as for souls, those who refuse to be
saved, have only this fate of finality in front of them. The time for rebellion is fast ticking
by. The same reason it is better for the
lost to have the gifts of the failing servant reallocated to the most
successful servant – is to avoid the same fate the rebellious lost will
face. You are either saved. Or you are not. Your wife or husband is either with you hand
in hand, or they are not. At the end,
there is only one condition that exists, saved, or not. For those who are not, there is no more time,
to change the mind, the heart, and the life.
And mercy cannot tolerate evil forever.
It must be exterminated and all those who embrace evil will share its
fate.
Then comes the horror of the realization of your role, not
just in the saved, but in the lost. All
those you sinned against, or sinned with.
All those you had no time to love, the ones you were too busy to make
time for, being pressed by “other matters”.
All the times you let fear of your survival, food, clothing, shelter,
keep you from loving; trusting to your own need to provide these things,
instead of trusting in God to provide them, giving you the precious time you
needed to love someone else. All this
lack of action leads up to the horror of knowing there is an empty place in His
Kingdom you might have otherwise helped to fill. Everyone likes to refute the idea that a “do
nothing” Christian is not an accurate description of who they are. But on this day of judgment, of self judgment
there will be no hiding from the absence of those who should have been there
but are not, and perhaps are not, because of you. Your heart will be finally and fully be
transformed to love like Jesus does. But
with that, will come its breaking, like the heart of God must be shattered for
every child who refuses what He longed to offer them. You cannot save others. But you can love them, and through that
loving, draw them closer to the one who does save us all. Failing to do that, will be a failure that
will one day shatter your heart. Only
then will you realize there was no greater priority, or need, than to love
those who needed you most.
Perhaps it is long past time for us all to “do more”. For some of us, to “do something”. For love simply will not permit us to “do
nothing” for even another second.
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