April 2017
‘Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, Invest this for me while I am gone….the first servant reported, Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!… the third servant said, Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid..’ Luke 19: 11-27 NLT
I thought I’d kick off Contemplations with one of my meditations in preparation for Easter. It’s Luke’s version of the parable of the Ten Servants. I encourage you to take a moment to read the passages before you read my thoughts.
Some of us are familiar with the parable of the talents in the other gospels. This version of the story helped me think through the familiar story in a new way.
There are 3 servants that are called out to give an account of their investment. As I reread the parable I kept asking:.
‘What happened to the other seven servants?’
What did they do with their investments?
They aren’t ever mentioned but what we do know is that they’re lost in obscurity.
One of the servants was so afraid of the Master that he wasted the resources that was entrusted to him. He missed out on this once in a lifetime opportunity because of his fear.
I can identify.
I have this persistent fear that I’m wasting my life and not living for what matters. I’m not necessarily looking for public recognition but I crave simple validation that I’m on the right track. I’m afraid of getting to the end of my life only to find out I went after vanished dreams that really didn’t matter.
The Master expects a return on his investment. He held each servant accountable for the actions they took with the resources He provided them.
The Master expects growth. He holds us accountable for increasing what He gives us.
The servant who received the Master’s disapproval did so because he was afraid and wasn’t willing to take a risk. Even the minimal risk of putting the silver in a bank to earn interest was uncomfortable.
These days we hear a lot about how to 10X your business. Dream big. Jim Collins, author of Good To Great, challenges his readers to set BHAGs(Big Hairy Audacious Goals).
Is this what this parable is talking about? Maybe my reluctance to see how God might be calling me into His worldwide perspective is at the root of this parable’s lesson.
In order to get 10X return, maybe it takes 10X perspective and an 10X risk.
We are not told how the servant earns a 10X return but I venture to guess that it took a calculated risk and a lot of work. The servant wisely invested the resource he’d been given over a period of time to substantially grow the Master’s investment.
As I thought about entering holy week and trying to live the passion of Christ. I wondered how I might be willing to risk more for Jesus. He’s my Master and coming back some day to check it on my investment in the life He’s given me.
I want to be one of the servants that He says. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant’.
I really don’t want to be an unfaithful servant who is afraid to take risks for His name’s sake. I dread being one of the seven servant that gradually fall away into obscurity, never to be heard from again.
Then I asked how I might be more transparent with my spiritual journey on my blog and internet business. I prayed that God would open my eyes and heart to see where I needed to have more courage and not be afraid. I prayed for 10X boldness to identify with Christ especially during holy week and not hide in the shadows like one of the disciples.
The announcement for you to join me on the Contemplations page was my step of faith to take a risk to invest this resource for the kingdom.
Now I hope and pray that God will bless it and it will provide you encouragement and inspiration to take 10X risk so that you might receive a 10X return on His investment in you.
Paul
