I guess Jesus did some pretty curious things while he walked the earth. But I think he could have done even more curious ones, like something out of Star Trek’s mind-altering episodes. We see that as science fiction, but I know that God is capable of much more than what we have seen. Jesus could have come and quietly pinched the right nerve, getting rid of all those pesky Pharisees and keeping only the good ones around. Where would Nicodemus have fallen on the scale? Keep or pinch away? That would have been control. And that is not at all what Jesus came to do.

No controlling pinch or push

He tells a parable a bit like those pinches though. The Parable of the Talents (also called the Parable of the Bags of Gold) describes more of the interaction between the master and the servants. Found in Matthew 25:14-30, the master put his faith in the three servants, each according to his ability. The master knew the servants well, giving each only what he or she could manage. Upon the master’s return, two of the servants had doubled the master’s investment in them. The third had hidden away the master’s investment and returned it as is.

We often view the eternal punishment upon the third servant as his being condemned to hell, ‘where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,’ (verse 30). From there we generally think something about needing to serve God and utilize what he has given us. Recently, I was challenged on this line of thought. When we look at what Christ came to do, nowhere else does it say anything about smiting one from the earth just like that. We of course have Noah and the earthquake that swallows Israelites in the desert and numerous other examples. But here we are presented with Jesus Christ who came saying, ‘The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me,’ (John 12:45) and ‘If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him,’ from John 14:7 (and continuing through to verse 14). So, Jesus has now come and he is a reflection of the Father, a perfect reflection of Abba. Yet, he did not condemn the rich young ruler, or the woman caught in adultery, nor did he turn away from the gentile who asked from the crumbs from under the table. Yet, we (or at least I) read this parable and think, ‘oh, God has condemned him forever.’ In this contrast, I have to wonder, ‘Have we missed something here?’

Seeing with Distortion

It seems like I have looked at this Parable as perhaps a threat or a ‘you really ought to … or else’ kind of statement. But that seems to be this control narrative that has infiltrated my thoughts. Instead, this is God. The God of love, the God who is the good Father (good, good father as we sing). He is so many things that are not this wrath image we’ve developed. So, I was intrigued by this challenge. What is Jesus saying about this third person, the third servant?

The servant was a part of the master’s household and had every opportunity that the others had, even up to being entrusted with the master’s goods to manage in his absence. In Matthew 25:24-25, we read, “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.” The servant sees the master as a) a hard man, b) taking more than he gives (gathering more than sown), c) worthy of fear.

Even failure can please God

The servant lived out the same experience as the first two servants, however this servant did not see a master who trusted him, a master who provided for him, a master who equipped him, a master who loved him. He saw with such great distortion that he was afraid. He didn’t want to mess up, he played it safe and didn’t take any risks. That doesn’t seem like such a bad thing to do. So, where is the compassion we (at least I) usually ask. The servant made choices based on that distortion: hard, one who takes, one to fear. But that distortion is not a true reflection of God, not a true reflection of who Jesus shows us God is. Like I said before about this Parable, since (not if) God is good and loving and merciful and full of grace, what am I missing? The servant was missing this too. He didn’t understand that the master was willing to forgive any mistake so long as his heart was for the master. And he didn’t try to know the master, He didn’t seek counsel or ask, or even try to understand the master he saw and met daily.

Our success or failure isn’t what pleases God, our faith is what pleases God. When our heart is for God, when we make the choice of faith, it pleases God. We put on ourselves our failures, worn like cloaks, yet God is delighted that we trust Him and risk ourselves (lay down ourselves) for his sake. He made the ultimate risk, giving his son in exchange for our lives even knowing that rejection was likely by so many. He loves that we risk for him, that we may fail has no consequence if we are doing for HIM.

Faith pleases Him

This third servant was saving his own hide, living in fear rather than the freedom that the master offered. I am truly learning that the means are more important than the ends. God is interested in the why and the how of our lives, if the why is for him and the how is the way he leads, then all the rest is just cream.

This boils down to Hebrews 11:6, ‘And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.’ This convoluted sentence says we please God through our faith in Him and in his character, the character that shouts aloud how he is good and does good for those who walk with Him. The third servant has not made this choice to walk with the master, but instead cowers and hides, choosing not to walk at all. He knows of the master, but he doesn’t know the master.

Know God, not just of Him

The third servant is then sent out into the darkness, where he was already cowering. The servant made the choice, the master merely opened the door to him. That is how God works, leaving the choice to us. Just as he left the choice to those who lived Noah’s time. I can only imagine how long it took Noah to build the ark and I’d bet he repeated the story many times, but there was no repentance. God did not send doom and wrath but sent a man a message that was built in the midst of the people, a message in the form of an ark. We must know God, not just of him. Then the utilization of talents and carrying out our good Lord’s work will be a part of our daily walk with him. Knowing Him personally, we walk in his love, unconditional love, certain that he cares so much he responds with goodness.