The Parable of the Ten Minas Luke 19:11-27
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+19%3A11-27&version=NIV
In this parable we see a few different groups of people. We see the servants (which are believers) and subjects (which are non-believers). I seem to be fixated on the role of the servants, how they relate to us and how we live out our lives, so off we go to dive a little deeper.
There are three servants in Jesus’ parable, the first two servants are believers that have a desire to fulfill their appointed duties. Then there is the third servant, he is a believer too, however does not have a desire to fulfill his responsibilities. What kind of servant do you think you are? Let’s continue to look at what the story tells us to get some better insight into these servants and their responses.
In the story the servants were:
Given a resource – the mina
Assigned a mission “Put this money to work”
Provided with a timeline “until I come back”
Granted a reward for their efforts
Let’s take a look at each of these sections and see what wisdom we can glean from them.
The resource
One mina – equally distributed to each of the servants. Scholars believe that this mina represents the gospel. So, each servant, that includes you and I, have been given the gift of God’s word – the gospel.
The mission
“Put this money to work”, that is, we are responsible for the dispensation of the gospel. We are not to hold on to it, hide it, store it on a shelf and allow it to collect dust. We are responsible for putting it to work.
Well what does that look like? There are any number of variations this can take, and the following are simply my thoughts that came to mind and is by no means an exhaustive list. Maybe this means missionary work, volunteering on a praise and worship team, leading a small group, volunteering at a shelter, writing a book, preaching the word on you tube, inviting a co-worker to church, caring for the elderly, providing compassion for the sick and lonely, the list of possibilities is endless.
Whatever tasks we undertake, in all of these things, it is the Holy Spirit we need to plug into to release the power, love and beauty of God. This will allow God to be visible and radiant through our personal lives to those around us.
Perhaps some of you are thinking, “well I don’t know what I am supposed to be doing”. If this reflects your thinking, rest assured God will never leave an inquiring heart and mind of a servant unanswered – we need to pray and ask and we will receive.
Okay, so we have the gospel and we know we are to put it to work. Now we have the timeline.
The timeline
“Until I come back”, the task starts immediately, and the work doesn’t stop when we are tired, feel defeated, or “busy”. It ends only when Jesus returns – full stop. Can’t be any clearer than that, can it? It isn’t up to you and I to determine when we are done, it belongs to Jesus. As He worked tirelessly, so must you and I.
The reward
Like the first servant, we can put in 100% effort, be satisfied that we have done the best we can and have results that reflect our work. Or like the third servant, we put in zero effort, without exposing ourselves at all, living a very comfortable, sheltered life in our own surroundings where it is “safe” and come up empty handed. Then there is the middle ground between these two servants, where the second servant falls into place – not the best outcome, but not the worst.
I so admire those that give 100% of themselves and kick start something new and daring. It is their passion for the cause that motivates them and their willingness to forgo monetary or physical reward or acknowledgement that inspires me. One of my oldest and dearest friends has launched her ministry on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/debbiedevriesministry/. She loves Jesus and has a passion for His word. She genuinely seeks Jesus and pursues His will for her life.
How much easier would it be for Debbie to do her bible study in her own home and feed and grow herself? Instead she chose to expose herself and spread God’s word through the internet. She devotes herself to posting every morning and desires to spread God’s truths to believers. Debbie has a passion and her passion steers her life choices.
Jesus is calling all of us to give all of ourselves to seek and serve His purpose in our lives. I believe those who answer Jesus’ calling and give all of ourselves, identify with the first servant who invested his minas wisely and produced a return that was commended by Jesus as “well done”.
With the second servant, it is interesting that while the servant earned half that which the first servant earned, he was rewarded for his service, but not celebrated like the first servant. Do you think that perhaps this servant didn’t fully grasp onto every opportunity presented to him? I don’t know the answer, but I think it is interesting to ponder. In any case, what we do see, is that he is rewarded proportionately as the first servant, a city for each mina earned.
The third and last servant does not know his master and does not care about his master’s plan. This servant tries to excuse his lack of motivation and effort by claiming fear of punishment.
Tell me something, if you were afraid that you would be punished for failure to act, wouldn’t you take steps to ensure you didn’t fail and avoid the consequences? I know my answer would be “yes”, I would do what it took not to be punished. So, it’s not fear we are talking about here with the third servant, it is laziness. A laziness brought about in pleasing himself first and disregarding God’s plan. Maybe we can go so far as to say the modern Christian in this scenario would say, “I’m saved, what do I care about anyone else?” Nope, not gonna cut it and Jesus calls him out on it.
So my questions to you and I today are, which servant are we and which servant do we want to portray in our lives? What will we sacrifice personally to do so? Will our passion and love for Jesus motivate us to spread the word and glorify God? Do we want to see others come to Jesus? Or do we just carry on with life as it suits us? Do we sacrifice our physical wants on this earth for the mission assigned to us? Only you can answer these questions as it applies to you. It looks different for everyone, that much we understand. But we need to honestly look at our lives and reflect on the mina we have been given and what have we/will we do with it?
My prayer for us today: Lord on the day of your return I pray that we will hear Your words, “well done, my good servant!” spoken to us. In the meantime, Father might you grow in us an understanding of our assigned tasks, a passion to fill the great commission, and the strength and courage to work tirelessly until You return. Amen