I’ve been staring down this parable for days.  Read it yourself and let’s wallow in the reaches of it: Luke 19:11-27.

(Really, take a minute and read it)

Dum,da,dum,da dum…let me know when you’re done.

You see what I mean!  Luke tells stories we’ve heard from others, but with his own little spin, his own nuances that make you read it a second time and think, “You sneaky fella, you sure packed a lot into one little story.”

Let’s start at the beginning.  Jesus is headed into Jerusalem and apparently everyone expects Him to somehow take a throne there and rule them in power–as evidenced by His “triumphal entry.”  So He tells them this story to help them to realize it isn’t time for that yet.  He has to go away and return and this is how they are to spend that interim time.  And thus He tells the story.

A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.

He is not among us, but He is King and He is coming back.

“Put this money to work,” he said, “until I come back.”

He was quite clear they were not to sit and await His return idly, they had work to do.

And then this part really gets me:

“We don’t want this man to be our king.” He was made king, however…

His being King doesn’t have a thing in the world to do with whether or not I or you or anyone else wants Him to be.  He just IS.  For goodness sakes, He is known as the I AM.  And He is when I feel like it and when I don’t.  He is whether I acknowledge it, defame it, embrace it, deny it, or ignore it.  He is for the saint and for the sinner.  He is for the nun and for the atheist.  He is for Billy Graham and He was for Charles Darwin.  He is for Barack Obama and He was for Charles Manson.  He is not because of what we believe, but because of who He is.

He is King and I am not and the less I fight Him for the position, the sooner I can get to the heart of this earthly living business.

This Master doles out His gifts as He will and goes on to His distant country. When He returns, He calls His servants to account: What have you done with what you’ve been given?

Some worked quite diligently.  Others not so much.  But here is the truth that overwhelms me: the last servant didn’t do anything wrong.  He just didn’t do anything right.

He didn’t refuse to give back the mina.  He didn’t steal it or gamble it away or use it for personal gain.  He did nothing bad.  He just didn’t do anything good.  He gave back what was given him, an even trade.  And that was not what his Master had in mind.

When Christ returns, He’s gonna ask me how I GREW what He invested in me.  If I look and live and talk and serve and study and worship the same today as I did last month or last year, then I’m not growing anything!  I don’t want that kind of tongue lashing!  I’m not interested in seeing the tough side of this love!

And that’s the final mine where I’ve found myself rolling around these last few days.  The Master gave to him who was blessed, more blessings.  And from he who had nothing, He took all there was.

“Sir,” they said, “he already has ten!”

People didn’t like that much.  I often don’t like that much.

It is the King’s right to dispense of His belongings as He sees fit.  And sometimes I’m not going to like how things shake out. The King is free to give and take rewards and hardships, lessons and blessings, talents and troubles, in whatever way He might chose.

And there will be times when I and others don’t think it’s quite fair.

Finally, the same Master who piles blessings onto one man, powerfully strikes fear into another.  I serve a great and mighty God who is rightfully Ruler of my life and powerfully King of this planet.

He’s given me a work to do and I don’t like the idea of having to look into His face and not see the kind eyes of a Savior Friend who took my place.  I’ve no interest in presenting myself on my own merit.  I know how very far that would fall from sufficient.  And the wrath due me is too much for me to bear.

Our King awaits!  There’s work to do, because to those who beg it on and to those who deny it’s coming, the King will return!