A l l o f u s h a t e waste — or we should! One of the sad fea- I tures of our society is to see the criminal waste o f food and materials among the wealthy and witness the abject poverty amid the poorer society. God c rea ted everything in abundance. His provision is mag nificent yet He wastes nothing. Everything He made has a pur pose. Is there anything more tragic than a wasted life? Years of wast ed time and wasted opportunities combine to make one wasted life. There can be no deeper sense of failure than to recognize at the end of days we have accomplished so little that is worthwhile. But we do need to recognize what constitutes waste. What may be a waste o f time and effort to one person may be something entirely different to another, de pending on the individual interest and purpose. The question asked by Judas in our title is such an occasion (Matt. 26:8). Judas witnessed the precious g ift bestowed on Christ, and his financial outlook determined his attitude: “ 300-pence worth, what a waste!” Remember, a man’s wages averaged one penny a day so the g ift represented at least one year’s salary. Was Judas right to protest at such extrava gance? Was it not a fair assess ment that this money could have been of greater benefit to the poor? Would Christ welcome such spending on Himself when there was such need everywhere? There is always the matter of having the priorities rightly as sessed. The answer Christ gave at this time settled any further open criticism: “ Leave her alone.” He knew what lay behind this sacrifice: the years o f work and the loving devotion of the wom an’s heart. She was laying all she had at the feet of the Lord and He toojc it, rejoiced over it and made a statement later wonder fully fulfilled: “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be
told for a memorial o f her” (Matt. 26:13). Nothing ever received by Christ can warrant the term “ waste.” Yet in the eyes of modern, mate- rialistically-minded people what ever is given to Christ is a waste. ^ “ To what purpose?” is the cry ^ from many, “What is the use of giving a whole life to the service of Christ when it could be used to advantage in other ways?” This is worldly reasoning but con trary to all the teaching of Christ. On the one hand, our Lord reckoned that the life given to Him was “ thrown away” in the t sight of the world, but this forms the very basis of His call to dis- cipleship. “ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matt. 16:25). The es sence of Christian living is the handing over all c on tro ls to Christ. All choices and decisions are to be His and whatever plans He makes we are happy to follow; our own ideas we joyfully scrap and determine to do His will whatever it may mean. Be assured o f this: if God ever* calls you to leave your home and chosen career to become a min ister or a missionary, you will find the general trend of opposi tion to your decision to follow " Christ always will be: “ Don’t be a fool; look what you are giving up; think of your future; think of the financial sacrifice; after all, what do you hope to get out of it? You are trading certainty for un certainty,” etc. The life given to Christ is al ways a life wasted in the opinion of unspiritual people. “ Play it safe” is their advice, and all o f us have to make a definite choice whether we believe Christ and go His way or take our own path. Christ knows the measure of every sacrifice made on His be half. He is fully aware o f the tears and heartache that such a step may involve. Yet the most joyful people in this earth are those who have given everything unreservedly to Him. None live so THE KING'S BUSINESS
j
t
^
H
y
by Stanley Collins
1
TO
>
WHAT
PURPOSE
IS
THIS
WASTE
>
.
? ■
10
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker