"The Parable of the Cell Phone" by Dianne Prince Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:41-48 Jesus used simple stories to convey important truths pertaining to the way of life and joy God has for us. Jesus’ parables commonly feature examples or illustrations from daily life in ancient Palestine, such as mustard trees and fig trees, wineskins and oil lamps, money and treasure, stewards, workers, judges, homemakers and children’s games. Jesus’ audience was very familiar with these illustrations of everyday life. In our scripture lesson today, Jesus talks about the return of Christ, and His expectation of us upon his return. Because our mission is to evangelize the lost and edify the saints, our daily activities should in some way incorporate witnessing to the unsaved and encouraging those who are part of the body of Christ. Witnessing does not always involve standing on the corner of a busy street passing out tracts with the message of salvation. The most effective witness many times is your lifestyle, your choices and your actions. The best of your service is oftentimes showing love, concern and compassion toward a perfect stranger, a social outcast, or a known sinner. Matthew 24:45-51 illustrates a faithful servant whom the master left in charge to manage his household and feed his family. The master went away, but returned unannounced and unexpectedly. In the same way, upon Jesus’ return, He expects to find faithful and fruitful servants. Jesus is no longer with us physically. We are His hands, feet and intellect to those who are in a position where they cannot help themselves. As good stewards, we are to take care of all God left to our charge. The Psalmist says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein”. God owns everything, and as stewards, we have a responsibility to manage His affairs and His property in this earth until Christ returns. When Jesus returns, he will react either one of two ways as it relates to our service: 1) He will grant the servant a reward, or 2) He will banish the servant with the unfaithful. In contrast to the faithful servant, in our scripture, the unfaithful servant concluded that his master was not returning for a long time. Thus, he took advantage of others. He beat his fellow servants and lived wickedly, eating and drinking with drunkards. Because of the servant’s unfaithfulness, upon the master’s return, he was severely punished. The response of the servant is an indication of his inward condition. He obviously had a heart for the things of the world and not a heart for God. A heart that loves the things of God will serve mankind, not grudgingly, out of necessity or expectation. A heart for God will serve with a pure motive, a positive attitude and a spirit of excellence. Upon Christ’s return, He expects to find his servants faithfully carrying out His will. The Bible says to whom much is given, much is required. When the master returns and finds the servant has used what God placed inside of Him to advance the kingdom, he will be rewarded greatly. Just as Jesus used examples from daily life in ancient Palestine, you can use simple illustrations from today to teach valuable lessons to your children, grand children, nieces and nephews. Some common items you can use to create your own parables as teaching tools are cell phones, texting, video games and music. Young people may not be able to relate to a fig tree or a mustard tree, but they can definitely connect with items they are accustomed to handling on a daily basis. The challenge for you today is to think of creative ways you can use everyday items to teach a valuable lesson to a young person. Turn your thoughts to how you can use the cell phone or "texting" as a witnessing tool to a young person. Explore how modern music can be used to get the message of Christ across to teenagers. As you apply everyday items to the message of the gospel, young people will “get it”, change their lives for the better, and Christ will say to you, “well done”.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 10:23:23 +0000
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