Serving the King
Luke 19:11-26
"Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God..."
(Psalm 123:2, KJV)
If we wish to serve a king, we must fix our eyes on him to make sure we know what he requires. In Jesus' parable of the ten minas, the good servants honored the master and served him in the way he wanted. They were productive because they looked to him and his wishes, ignoring their own feelings of inadequacy and any fears that things might go wrong. They trusted the king when he came again to be just in his reward. However, the wicked servant was so transfixed by unloving thoughts about his master and by his own fear that he was totally unproductive.
So must we look away from all the noise that goes on in our own minds and turn away from fears of all kinds. Fears, perhaps, that our sinfulness disqualifies us from serving; fears that we will experience disappointment and frustration; fears of inadequacy and of being unfit to do the King's work. Instead, let us look only to the master of our lives, our King who came to us lowly and unadorned in a cattle stall, and serve Him on bended knee.
INSIGHT
"Perhaps you would have grown in grace far more if you had used what God has given you and forgotten about yourself."
(Andrew Bonar, Scottish pastor)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Zephaniah 1-3
Proverbs 26
Revelation 8-10
Luke 19:11-26
The Parable of the Ten Minas
11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a] ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’
14 "But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15 "He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16 "The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
17 "‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
18 "The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
19 "His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
20 "Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
22 "His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
24 "Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
25 "‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’
26 "He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
Footnotes:
a. Luke 19:13 A mina was about three months’ wages.
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