Divided Interests

Posted on by korgrocker

“I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.”
1 Corinthians 7:32-35 NLT

Was Paul correct with his advice concerning the distractions of marriage? After all, marriage is an ordained feature of human life, and in its most basic sense, it is intended to continue the human race. However, anyone reading these verses can draw several conclusions that all perhaps point to marriage being something second-best for a Christian. For example, Paul wrote that an unmarried man can spend his time being devoted to serving God. Being married just gets in the way because it comes with “earthly responsibilities” and divides the man’s interests between those of marriage and those of Christian service. Paul continued with much the same theme for a married woman, referring to her “earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband”. It is interesting also to see from Paul’s words that an unmarried woman “can be devoted to the Lord” and is “holy in body and in spirit”, something that implies that a married woman lacks the same holiness. It’s all a bit confusing at first sight and something that needs much prayer to discern what the Spirit is saying, not least to someone who is considering marriage, or is already married and wants to know how he or she could avoid “divided interests”. But we note that the main issue that concerned Paul was about distractions. He wrote, “I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible”. 

As a pilgrim today, getting the right balance between the Lord’s work and our earthly lives is very important. Too many Christians are passive believers, happy to attend church on a Sunday, or even the weekly prayer meeting, but do little else to further the Gospel or do anything else that serves God. Is that a bit harsh and judgmental? Possibly, but I have no one in mind except myself. Each believer has to get before God and ask Him what He wants them to do, and then make sure that they are obedient to His call. Paul was intent on furthering the Gospel in his day and was totally sold out to God in that process. Although we are not all Pauls, God has provided each one of us with something that He can use for His service. We read the parable of the three servants in Matthew 25, and note that each of the servants was entrusted with a sum of money while their master was away on a long journey. The important point to note was that each servant was given the money “in proportion to their abilities”. What the three servants did with their money we can read in Matthew 25:16-18, “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money”. Note that Jesus made no mention of servants who were given nothing, with the implication being that all servants would have had something to invest. Elsewhere in Scripture we read “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10). We should also note that God does not expect more from what he has given us than is possible for us to give. Therefore, the servant with two bags of silver was not expected to return five bags. 

So, on the premise that God has given each of us something to invest in His Kingdom, what are we doing with what He has entrusted to us? To Paul, marriage would have seriously curtailed his ability to freely roam around the Middle East on his missionary journeys, because he would have to consider his wife in all his plans. However, on the other hand, a prominent figure in Jesus’ band of disciples was Peter, who was a married man (see Matthew 8:14). We also know that Moses, one of Israel’s most outstanding leaders, was married. So, referring to Jesus’ parable of the three servants, perhaps Paul was a “five bags of silver” servant, and his diligence in investing that gift can be found both in the New Testament through his letters and in churches planted all over the Middle East. So how many “bags of silver” has God entrusted to us? We all will have at least one bag, and consequently, we need to invest it in God’s service.

Paul realised that the believers in Corinth would have been either married or not, and he set out a higher call for God’s people there, that being the importance of “serving the Lord” in the best way possible. That call is still reverberating today, counter-culturally balancing the worldly distractions that are constantly being applied to us pilgrims. We are not all called to become missionaries, heading off to a foreign land to preach the Gospel to a heathen nation. But we are called to a mission field amongst our families and friends, who desperately need to hear the Gospel.

Dear Father God. Please clarify our gifting so that we can do Your work diligently wherever You have called us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What About Him Lord?

Posted on by korgrocker

“Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” So the rumour spread among the community of believers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that isn’t what Jesus said at all. He only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”“
John 21:20-23 NLT

Peter had just completed a difficult conversation with Jesus. Three times, Jesus had asked him if he loved Him, and three times he responded that he did. Jesus has gone to say how Peter’s life would eventually end, presumably adding to his discomfort, and He then reminded Peter that he must follow Him. But Peter then did what we try to do sometimes – take the focus off ourselves and try and divert it to someone else. Turning around, Peter saw John just behind him, and he asked about his future as well. Jesus said to Peter that it should be of no concern to him how John’s life would end, and he once again told Peter to follow Him, “As for you, follow Me”. 

Too often people, even us pilgrims, try and evade a situation by trying to avoid accusations or blame by involving another person. It is common to find a child blame someone else when in trouble. A person in the dock, being prosecuted for a crime that they committed, will sometimes claim a defence of mistaken identity, just in case the evidence against them is a bit weak. But regardless of conduct in this life, there will be a time of reckoning. Romans 14:10-12, “So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’” Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God”. Thankfully, the names of us pilgrims are written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life, but there will perhaps be some uncomfortable moments when Jesus asked us, “Why didn’t you …”.

Jesus told the parable of the Three Servants, each left with some responsibilities when their Master went away on a long trip. His expectation was that they would use their God-given abilities to do something significant for Him. The first two servants were commended, “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’” (Matthew 25:21). But the third servant failed to use his abilities, even though they had been granted by God Himself. And the penalty was dire, as we read in Matthew 25:29-30. “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Father God. You have given us many blessings but we deserve none of them. We desire to do Your will, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Our Legacy

Posted on by korgrocker

“For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life, so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone.”
2 Peter 1:14-15 NLT

Peter included in his letter to his friends in Asia Minor the sobering and sad news that his death wasn’t far away. Not a death due to an incurable disease, but a violent death at the hands of the Romans. And Peter knew this because Jesus had told him. He wasn’t sure of the exact day and hour, but he did know that it was to be soon. However, this knowledge spurred Peter on to make sure his legacy would be remembered. 

It is sometimes fascinating to walk around a graveyard in the grounds of an old church and read the inscriptions marked on the ancient gravestones. Names and a few words are all that is left, in most cases, of the memory of the person buried beneath the crumbling headstone. The letters might be difficult to read, as the weathering of wind and rain have gradually taken their toll over the years, but the writing remains. Within the church building itself there may be a few plaques embedded in the walls or floors that describe a person of note in the parish. Perhaps a benefactor or public servant. But little remains of details about who the person really was. There is a tendency to write a few words about what a person did, or how they were a much loved member of a family, but it is rarely the case that we learn much about their legacy.

Peter’s legacy is clear – he left behind him two letters that have had a significant impact on generations of believers ever since. But what about ordinary people who just continue with their life, bringing up their children, working for a living, being good neighbours, and plodding along quietly in their pilgrimage through life towards the promised land? True believers are mainly faithful people who don’t leave a high-profile legacy for others to read, but instead, by their influence at the time, make their communities, families and society in general a better place. These are believers who work out their lives as members of God’s family, in His Kingdom. Jesus said, as recorded in Luke 17:20b-21, “ … The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you“. God’s Kingdom isn’t noticed by our secular politicians. It isn’t recognised with a passport or some other record of citizenship. Instead it is a spiritual Kingdom, and our legacy is bound up within it. 

One day we will leave behind us the earthly kingdom in which we live, and our opportunities for leaving an earthly legacy will cease. At the end of our lives we may even doubt we have left any lasting impact. But we may be surprised one day to find out that, in fact, we did leave a legacy after all, as we find other believers in Heaven who are there because of us. We were faithful in living our natural lives God’s way and because of our witness and testimony they too became believers. 

How we pilgrims live our lives on Planet Earth is important. Jesus told a parable of three servants, to whom he entrusted a sum of money. The sums that each received were different (Matthew 25:15, “He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip“), but the money in itself wasn’t important. What mattered was that each servant had an opportunity to invest what they had been given. We each have different capabilities, gifts (talents) given by God, but the important thing is that we are faithful and obedient in doing with our lives what God intends. In the parable, the master returns and finds that two servants have faithfully invested their money but one just buried it and did nothing with it. The first two servants heard those wonderful words from Jesus – “ … ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together‘” (Matthew 25:23). The third servant heard words that he didn’t want to hear, because he had wasted what God hd given him..

A life full of faithful investment, sharing God’s gifts with those around us, in our families, communities, workplaces and all, is the legacy we need to leave behind us. And as we do that, these gifts are multiplied in the lives of others. All our legacies will be different – in Jesus’ parable no sum of money was the same. There is no right and wrong in the way we live our lives. But we pilgrims are faithful people who shine with our faith, illuminating the dark corners in other people’s lives.

Dear Father God. Please help us not to waste what You have invested within us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.