of us spend all our time taking care of ourselves and we have not time nor energy left with which to do the things we are here to do. Happy is the man who can say, “Lord, you take care of me, and I’ll take care of my duty,” and then proceed to do just that. We are so often trying to take care of what God will look after that we fail to do what God meant for us to look after. I t is only a mind at leisure from itself that can properly occupy itself with the things of God. That brings us to the second deposit in our texts. God has com mitted something to us. He has given us a charge to keep. We have a treasure in earthen ves sels. We have a life to live, a wit ness to bear and a message to pro claim. And He has given us time and talent and money. We are not only depositors; we are deposi tories. We are not only deposi tories; we are dispensers, house holders, stewards of the manifold grace of God. And it is required in stewards that they be faithful. We must keep the deposit. We must guard our sacred trust. Some of us are like the man in the Old Testament who was given a charge to keep. The charge es caped and the explanation was, “While thy servant was busy here and there, behold he was gone.” I have met men and women all over the country whom God trust ed with a sacred deposit, but they did not guard the deposit. Some were called to be preachers or missionaries. God gives us all kinds of deposits to keep. Some fail Him in the use of their time. Some have been entrusted with money, some with rare gifts and talents. Some have children to keep, and what a precious trust that is and how miserably some are failing to keep it! To whom much has been given, of him shall much be required. It is a glorious privilege to be entrusted with God’s deposit but it is also a solemn responsibility. We must give account of our stewardship. We must think of both of these deposits in the light of our Lord’s
return. He will keep our deposit AGAINST THAT DAY. We must keep- our charge until that day. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about this matter of stewardship and said, “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mys teries of God. Moreover, it is re quired in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby jus tified : but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge noth ing before the time, UNTIL THE LORD COME, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” He is saying, “I do not appraise my own ministry and it matters little how men judge it.” The word really is, “man’s day.” We are living now in man’s day. God’s day is coming. What a poor, pitiful day man’s day i s ! What a failure he has made of i t ! He has devised gadgets and invented gim micks and thought himself smart and now he is beginning to see how stupid he is. He has gotten himself into a predicament from which he cannot escape. But the Lord is coming and then everything will be judged correctly. Paul says, “I am await ing the verdict of eternity.” Man’s standards are just as pitiful as his accomplishments. According to them, Paul was a failure. I can hear some of Paul’s old friends saying: “Too bad about Saul of Tarsus. He got off to such a good start. He was a brilliant student of Gamaliel’s. But one day he had a sunstroke on the way to Damas cus and he has been a religious fanatic ever since. Stays in jail most of the time and, as soon as he is out, gets into trouble and back he goes. What a tragic fail ure!” But that w e is the verdict of man’s day. Paul said, “I have fought a good fight, I have fin ished my course, I have kept the
faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, THE RIGHT EOUS JUDGE, shall give me AT THAT DAY.” Everything de pends on which day you are living for. He will keep our deposit against that day. We must keep His de posit against that day. Paul asked the Colossians to say to Archip- pus: “Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.” I t looks as if Archippus was not keeping his charge. Let the Lord keep your deposit. That will set you free to keep His deposit. You cannot keep both. You certainly cannot keep the first and if you try to keep it, you will not keep the second. Let God keep yours and you keep His. Have you made the great de posit of your soul? Along with that, have you entrusted Him with all the lesser things; your health, your life work, your fami ly» your money, your future, the smallest thing ? Is there one thing that you have withheld and are trying to guard yourself? Make it a total committal, all in one “package.” Then, are you faithfully keep ing His deposit: that talent, that gift, that time, that money, that child? Above all, are you taking care of the testimony, the Gospel witness, the Christian truth, of which we are depositories and dis pensers? You have only one re sponsibility in this world, to be a faithful steward, trustworthy householder. You do not have to be brilliant, popular, successful, just faithful. And if you are faith ful over a few things He will make you ruler over many things ON THAT DAY. But never forget that this de posit is not kept in our own fee ble strength. It is “by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” Do not depend on high-sounding re solves of your own but on His en abling. For it is God who works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. He who entrusts will enable. |
FEBRUARY, 1970
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