In other places, the churches have
lost their vision for mission and evangelism. All their energies are expended in caring for
their own members. Their horizon reaches
only to the back pews of their own buildings. They behave as though Jesus had
died only for them, or as though men and women are going to heaven regard less
of what they believe.
The others things visibly hurting
the church are divisions that stem from racial bigotry, heresies that grow out
of Biblical ignorance, personality cults that celebrate human achievement,
compromise with pagan valves in sexual and marital matters. All these give the
church a clinical rating that ranks with some of the sickest persons in an
intensive care ward. These problems
weaken the church’s mission, but what debilitates the church more is the
neglect of spiritual gifts in the body of Christ. The situation in thousands of
assemblies and gatherings is literally tragic. It is sad, despite Christ’s
strong warning. Matthew 25:14-30 speak
specifically to the tragedy that God’s people suffer when they do not make the
most of the gifts that God has given them. The story is in the parable of the
talents whose familiar theme is found in the text;
1)
the tragedy of abused accountability;
2)
the tragedy of missed opportunity; and
3)
the tragedy of lost joy.
No account of the discovery and
cultivation of our spiritual gifts can be complete if we fail to note the
damage done when those gifts are neglected.
The people in the parable are one key to its message: a master and three
servants. That relationship speaks of accountability. Servants must answer to
their master in all details of their life and work. We make a great mistake when
we mix our role with God’s; He sets the term of our work. He is in all things
the Master, our task is not to make the rules, but to obey by saying “yes” to
the rules He has already made.
Jesus began His parable thus: “For
it will be as when a man going on a journey 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. “(Matt. 25:14-15). Who decides who would get the five, the two
and the one? The master, of course, only he knew that servants well enough to
determine how much property each of them had ability to handle. There was no
squabble among them, no elbowing each other for the largest share, no
badgering the master for an extra talent. They recognized his right to decide.
They had no property of their own, nor any power to acquire it. Their share was
determined by His grace and by that grace alone. We are accountable to the Master’s
grace.
The master’s grace placed them
under obligation to make the best possible response. What they had not earned
or deserved had been put in their trust, their only acceptable answer was to
use it well. The Master of the Church gives these gifts of the Spirit to the Body
as expressions of His grace. We do not chose which gifts we receive or how
many. These matters are up to Him. Most importantly, we cannot chose not to use
what He has given us.
There is a purpose why He lavished
His grace upon us. This fact is made clear in the master’s rebuke of the
servants who had hid his own talent (matt 25:276-27). It tells us that God’s
grace in our lives is counted as an investment. It is not just to be conserved.
That was the wretched servant’s mistake. He did not realize that grace is a
seed to be planted for further growth. He did not understand that God’s
blessings are not for hoarding, but for multiplying as we put them to work in
the lives of others.
That servant could not plead
ignorance. He knew precisely how demanding the master was. But he misapplied
the knowledge that he had. He was defensive, not aggressive. He took no risks
in using the master’s grace and, in so doing, took the greatest risk of all; he
neglected his accountability to the master’s purpose.
The gifts of God’s, Holy Spirit
are precious and true. And the Lord of the Church demandingly wants them
treated as such. They are not like gold to be stored in Fort Knox, nor like
Rembrandts’ paintings to be hung in a well-guarded museum. They are fuel to be
converted into spiritual power, they are ore to be refined into useful tools,
and they are seedlings which will grow into fruitful trees.
The grace of God granted this
servant was an opportunity to expand and grow as a person; he missed all that
because he was fearful and unduly cautious. God gives more, when we use well what
we have. Part of the servant’s tragedy
was that he missed his opportunity for greater blessings. The Master’s command
was harsh; “Take the talent” he said “from him, and give it him who has will
more be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who has not, even what
he has will be taken away” (Matt 25:28-29).
The greatest responsibilities, the
larger privilege, the expanded service, the enhanced growth, all of these
chances were missed because the servant misread his master’s instructions. Sadly
he lost the chance he had; so his single talent had to be forfeited. Unused gifts may lead to disqualification
from God’s service. Who dare take lightly any spiritual gift bestowed upon us
by the risen Lord Jesus. He is Lord of
all. Wisdom demands that we discover what gifts God has given us and to diligently
use them in full submission to Him. It is not about doing things for God or
being active, busy and involved. Rather
it is about letting God do things through us. Let us not cripple the Church and
turn the body of Christ into losers because the Holy Spirit gifts have not been
put to work for God’s purpose. Joy follows when we purposefully use our
spiritual gifts in service for Him. Let us therefore, walk humbly before our
God and be accountable to Him for the spiritual gifts we have received so far.
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