Grains of Sand

This becomes almost a follow-up to Monday’s post in which I expressed my hope that a long-time servant of the Lord would be well-treated when she retires from her overseas assignment. In Luke 17 we get a glimpse of how a servant should feel about the whole matter of recompense for that service. It is one thing to be rewarded for faithfulness and another thing to expect to be rewarded for faithfulness. Jesus told the following parable to His disciples: “ Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you, also when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ” (Luke 17:7-10). I remember quoting ...

Google Images Been there, done that—to my shame! “ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour, they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day ’” (Matthew 20:11, 12). The parable from which these verses come was told by Jesus on the heels of His explanation to the disciples about the reward awaiting those who followed Him. After having assured His disciples that whatever they gave up for the sake of the Kingdom would be returned with interest, Jesus then proceeded to tell the story of the workers. Some had begun early in the day, contracted for a particular sum of money to put in a days’ labour. During the course of the day, other workers were hired, some coming in during the last hour of the workday. When they lined up to get their pay, those who had come during the last hour received exactly the same as those who had come in early in the morning. T...

Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:58 It seems like a cruel joke. How many times have you heard someone quote 1 Corinthians 15:58? The New International Version states it this way: “ Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain .” More often than not it is the last statement that we hear the most frequently. We take comfort in it and claim it as a promise for success in ministry. Eventually, we believe, we will see souls saved, believers growing in their faith, the church impacting the community and the world, if we just “keep on keeping on.” Small problem. Success in ministry is not what Paul is talking about. That wonderful little word “ therefore ” is the clue. Apparently there was some discussion in the Corinthian church about whether or not resurrection after death was really true. All of chapter 15 gives us Paul’s argument on the subject. Some we...

Reading: Matthew 17-20 Many mothers are ambitious for their children—sometimes to a fault. My own personal hot button is Toddlers and Tiaras , a TV “reality” show that comes pretty close to child abuse in my book. Wanting your kids to succeed in life isn’t necessarily a bad thing, nor is it uncommon. Take the case of James and John’s mother in Matthew 19, 20. Jesus opened the door to the discussion in Matthew 19. Peter commented that the disciples had given up everything to follow their Rabbi and he wondered what was “in it” for them as a reward for their sacrifice. Jesus answered: “ I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel ” (19:28, NIV). Mother heard this, or the boys reported Jesus’ comments to her and she followed up. If her boys were to sit on thrones, they should sit on the thrones closest to the Lord, shouldn’t they? S...