Our Picture of God and the Parable of the Talents.

I was reading the story of the 10 talents the other day. It was a story Jesus told. A master of 3 servants gave them each some talents. He told them to use them while he went away. When he came back, the first two servants had used their talents to make more. The master praised them. The third man, however, had buried his talent in the ground. He held it out to the master, but the called him lazy, took the one talent and gave it to the man with 10. The master said the third servant would be thrown out.

Whenever I read about this story in a book or commentary, the authors say the talents represent our abilities and well, talents. In the story the talent is a sum of money. Quite a large sum.

I was meditating on this story and I think the talents represent faith. The man who buried his talent is lost in the end. We are saved through faith and not works, lest any man should boast, the Bible says; any good we do cannot save us.

I think the story points this out in the excuse the man had for why he decided to dig a hole in the ground and throw the money in there. He said, “Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate.”

“I knew you were a harsh man.”  Is God harsh? Does he hover over us waiting for us to mess up so he can keep us out of heaven? No. He is not like that. He is hovering to see how many he can get into heaven. (Right here I could quote hundreds of Bible verses on God’s love, but I hope you will look them up yourself.)

The man said, “I know you reap where you did not sow.” What kind of farmer would expect his crop to grow if he sowed nothing in the field? Hmm, a crazy farmer, that’s for sure. This man seemed to be saying God asked the impossible from people. Is that true? No. God says we can do all things through Christ, who gives us strength. Jesus said, “Nothing will be impossible for you.” And, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This man did not know who God was. And his basic problem is he didn’t try to find out. He put his head in a hole in the ground. He didn’t want to hear the gospel and he didn’t try to seek God. He didn’t ask for God’s strength or for Jesus’ righteousness to cover him.

The Bible says we will find God when we seek him with all our hearts. Jesus said eternal life means knowing him and his Father in heaven. Jesus also said he will say to many at the judgement, “I never knew you.”

There is a reason it is vital to know God; He is the way, the truth and the life. Our picture of God will determine how we act and how we treat others. If we see God as harsh, we may think it is fine for us to be harsh. But if we see God as someone who forgives us 70 x 7 times a day, then we will forgive also.

The best reason to know God is to understand the plan of salvation. We were lost, but through Jesus’ death, we are found. We can never be perfect and sinless; Jesus was perfect and sinless. As a man, he took our place; he stood in the breech between us and God. God’s law says the penalty for sin is death. He could not change his law, but he could die in our place and satisfy the justice his law demands. We are covered by Jesus’ life and death. We cannot be righteous and earn our salvation through our talents and abilities. Jesus is, “The Lord, our righteousness.”

Never Feel Alone.

Photo by,Wolfgang Sauber

Thus says the LORD,

 "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, 
let not the mighty man boast of his might, 
let not a rich man boast of his riches; 
but let him who boasts boast of this, 
that he understands and knows Me, 
that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; 
for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.   Jeremiah 9:24

Jesus said, "And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."   John 17:3

Do you want to know God? If you have never come to him before there is a way to know him. You just ask him to help you get to know him and then read the Bible. He will reveal himself to everyone who asks.

"I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart."   Jeremiah 24:7

Years ago, a blogger, who was considering becoming a Christian, asked her followers, "Are you glad you became a Christian?"  I said, "It was the best decision I've ever made."

There is nothing like knowing you can turn to God about everything in your life. To know the Creator of the universe is interested in you and cares about your day. He cares about your children, your job, your health, your desires and thoughts. He wants to walk and talk with you, share his love and comfort. He wants to fill you with love, confidence and peace. Believing all this may take time, but it will come eventually if you don't give up seeking.

Once you understand God loves and accepts you just as you are, you never feel alone.

Eternal Life.

If someone would have asked me what eternal life is; I would have told them it is living forever.

I heard a preacher say that was wrong. Jesus told us what eternal life was.

He said, "And this is eternal life, that they might know you (God the Father) and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."  John 17:3

The preacher said eternal life is not a time-span.

Eternal life is a person.

I was at a family dinner one time and one of my son-in-laws asked me, "Do you know God, Belle?"  I answered, "Yes." Then he asked everyone at the table, my daughters and their children, "Does she know God?"  They said, "Yes."

But, now I would say, "I know him in a small way. I am learning about him and knowing him better day by day."  Because what I thought I knew about God has grown and expanded from the day I gave my life to him when I was nineteen. And I won't fully know him until I am in heaven and can learn more and more of his love and goodness.

How can we know God? Read the Bible each day and tell God you want to know him. It's that simple, but also hard because we must persevere and not give up.  ""You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."  Jeremiah 29:13

Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”  Jeremiah 9:23-24

"I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart."  Jeremiah 24:7

"And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest."  Hebrews 8:11

"If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”  John 14:7

"I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me."  john 10:14

"Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?"  John 14:9

Paul's Prayers.

Who is God?

Someone who wants us to know him, understand him and ask him to live in us.

Paul gives us examples of his prayers throughout his writings. If we want to know how to pray, or learn what will help us the most through prayer, read Paul's prayers. They are beautiful. Written below are some of his prayers from the book, Ephesians.

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." 

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." 

Ephesians 1:15-19

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." 

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  

Ephesians 3:16-21

These two prayers are linked by the word, "know." Knowledge of God's character, especially his love, is vital for a person who wants to be like him. I have heard a preacher say, "You live out your idea of God's character."  In other words, if we believe God is a condemning, cranky, judge. Then that is what we will be. If we believe God loves everyone, then we will love everyone.

Another word Paul uses a lot in these two prayers is, "power."  This power comes from God and enters us, he says. Perhaps we feel weak, but Paul says elsewhere that when we are weak then God is strong in us. We need his power, that's for sure. We need it to know Him and we need it to live for him.  Like Jesus said, "Without me, you can do nothing."  

Thank you God, for your power that is in me.