Life is full of choices. That seems like an understatement. In every aspect of your day you make choices from food to clothes, from work to play, from routes to stops along the routes, from words to actions, and hundreds of more categories. These are the choices as a people we often consider. These are the things we can see, hear, and do.
There is another choice that is out of sight and often out of mind that is more important than any of these. That choice: who are you going to serve today? Ultimately, there are only two options on the table – serve and worship Christ or serve and idolize self. This choice drives all the other choices of your day.
Each Moment a New Opportunity
Jesus, while walking toward Jerusalem with his disciples, challenged them in the area of choices with a parable (Luke 19:11-27). Jesus told of a nobleman who was leaving for an undisclosed amount of time to go receive a kingdom. Before he left, he gave ten servants a mina each, which was equivalent to between three and four months salary, and asked them to invest it in business. Upon the king’s return after had received the kingdom, the king called for each of them to give an account of how they had invested their mina. Jesus only tells us about three of them. The first servant brought back 10 minas – what an incredible return! The second servant brought back 5 minas – another great job. The third servant brought back the original mina to the king. Upon questioning, the servant told how he had hidden the mina in a handkerchief instead of doing anything profitable with the mina given to him. The king sternly corrected him and took the mina away from him and gave it to another.
What was the point of Jesus’ parable?
Jesus is the one who left to receive a kingdom. He still has not returned, nor has He held all His servants to an account. Yet, just as this king in the story, Jesus expects all His followers to be responsible with the grace He provides for them daily. His grace includes a relationship with God, union with Christ, the presence and power of the Spirit, the sufficient Word of God, relationships in the body of Christ, and all the other components of the gospel. All the personal benefits of salvation are included as well. So what does Jesus expect? Jesus requires all His servants to use the grace He provides (our mina) and invest it for His purposes. He anticipates that each of us would be a faithful steward (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2).
What motivates our stewardship?
In Jesus’ parable, the relationship with and kindness of the noble king motivated the faithful servants’ response. A servant in that day was there by choice and had a significant relationship with the one for whom he served. Christ-followers also receive motivation both from their relationship with Christ and the kindness shown them by grace. The love, friendship, mercy, and grace of Jesus motivates a life of worship or service to Him. As we behold the glories of our Savior and contemplate the immenseness of His grace, we long to serve Him (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
What is the most important choice of your day?
Today, you must determine who you will serve. Will you serve Jesus or serve yourself? Will you take the grace He gives you and faithfully invest it in the opportunities God provides you today in His providence? Will you choose to allow the glories of our Savior to propel you to better and greater service? Will you be a faithful steward of the manifold grace of God in Christ?
Join the Conversation
How would you describe your mina – the grace God has given you in Christ to worship and serve?
