The Faithful and Sensible Steward: The Adventures of Alfred the Butler, part 3

"And the Lord said, 'Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.'Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Luke 12: 42-48 NASB

In case you're just joining us, we have taken a little segue for the story of Alfred the Butler. It's an allegory and it has surprised me as much as anyone. 

Alfred has been a butler for a long time. He has a great master who announced he was giving Alfred a new job. Instead of being a butler, he is now in charge of grain distribution. You might want to read the previous stories to get caught up. Alfred # 1 and Alfred # 2.

We pick up at the point where the Master is leaving Alfred at the warehouse. Alfred is more than a little intimidated...

"Well, Alfred. It's a big job, but I'm counting on you." The master shakes Alfred's hand and departs, leaving Alfred to figure it out.

Alfred has his butler apron in his suitcase. It looks like he will need it, so he finds his new rooms. Maybe he should unpack first. The bedroom is worse than the warehouse. Old pizza boxes and fast food wrappers spill out from the garbage can and litter the floor. A beer bottle is broken, the fragments of glass lying in the corner. The mirror is cracked and so dirty he can't see his reflection. The white sheets on the cot are gray with dirt. They are not Egyptian cotton. The toilet is unmentionable. 

Alfred gags and chokes back the bile rising in his throat. "Oh, dear. This is not good. Not good at all." Alfred thinks a little more, but wisely decides not to say it. He had planned to unpack first, but not in this room. He gags again. The stench makes his eyes burn and he has to blink back tears.

Alfred has reached another decision point. He could do what the previous slacker did or he can get to work trying to do the job the master has given him. "I don't even know where to begin," he moans. He looks up and sees a little mouse nibbling on a crumb from one of the pizza boxes on the floor. A grain warehouse is no place for mice. 

Alfred has been a butler for years. He knows what to do about a mess and he knows how to do it. I might be qualified for this job after all, if it were just a little smaller. 

"Alfred, keep a stiff upper lip and get started," he tells himself, because that is what butlers do. "Make a list." Alfred takes the Mont Blanc pen out of his pocket and retrieves a discarded fast food bag from the floor. 
#1. Find garbage bags, broom, and dust pan. (This was #3 but he can't do anything else until he has bags, so he modifies his list.)
#2. Pick up garbage
#3. Take to dumpster
#4. Sweep
#5. Stack intact bags of grain 
#6. Decide what can be saved of the opened bags of grain

He reviews his list. There is nothing about grain distribution on the list. Well, it can't be helped. First things first. He will get to grain distribution when he can get to the grain.

Time to start on the garbage. Alfred reaches into the suitcase for his butler apron, ties it over his suit, and goes in search of a broom and garbage bags. 

His little bedroom is horrible. Alfred can't imagine lying down on that bed and trying to sleep with a mouse eating from the trash in the corner. YUCK. Alfred hates that room and he considers beginning his cleaning efforts right there. 

You guessed it. Alfred has reached another crossroads. He remembers all the thin, hungry children in the parking lot. This mess, left by the Master's own servants, is the reason those children are dying of hunger. Alfred talks to himself sometimes, and he needs a good "talking to" now.

"Alfred, old boy, this job is not about you. It's about the Master's grain distribution. Hop to it and get this grain ready for those poor little children." He straightens his shoulders and gets to work.

Our butler sweeps up dirt, gathers trash, and fills garbage bags. The dust clouds tickle his nose and make his sneeze. Alfred is accustomed to long hours, so he works until bedtime. When he finally stops, he looks around the warehouse. He has filled twelve bags with garbage. What a mess! 

Alfred once again surveys the 100,000 square foot warehouse. It is still a wreck and he is one man with one push broom and a dustpan. Have I made any difference at all? Is this possible? The job is too big, he thinks, but then he looks at the area where he has been working. He has completely cleared 500 square feet of debris and dust. Only 99,500 square feet to go!

He leans on his broom and takes a break. Why didn't the previous warehouse manager keep the warehouse clean? Everything he needed was here. Didn't he care? Didn't he want to please the Master? I will never understand how he let things get in this mess.

"Well, I'm not in charge of what didn't happen. I'm only in charge of what I can do, and I intend to do it." He gives himself another little talk, then Alfred pushes the broom ahead of him. There's too much work to do to stop now. 

Alfred finds himself in much the same situation we, as Christ followers, find ourselves in today. The body of Christ has, perhaps, not been the salt and light Jesus intended us to be. Regardless of who did or did not do whatever was or was not done, we have a mess in our world. There's no need to elaborate. You can see it for yourself.

We, too, stand at a crossroads. We can focus on making our little "quarters" more comfortable, or we can wade into the mess and try to make a difference. Alfred finds himself with an awful mess (as do we) but he does not hold back. He starts in one corner and makes a difference where he is, and so should we. 

God has placed gifts and abilities in each of us, and He longs for us to use them for Him.

We could make a difference, if we would make a start. What gifts has God placed in you? How can you use those gifts to make a difference in your "corner of the warehouse"?

As we end today, we realize that Alfred the Butler has been a faithful servant, even though he's only worked in 500 of 100,000 square feet. There is much to be done, but he's made a start and that's all that's required of him. At every crossroads of decision (so far) Alfred has done what he can do. He's chosen a good attitude and he's chosen to do what he's supposed to do.

How's our attitude? Have we done all that we can do for the kingdom of God?

Let's gather our supplies and make a start.

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Our Father, forgive us for not being salt and light in a dark place. Help us to focus more on your kingdom and less on ourselves. Help us to be more interested in making a difference in the world than in keeping ourselves comfortable. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Sending the Seventy, part 10: Staying and Swallowing

Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house.'...

Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. (Luke 10:5, 7 NASB)

We are studying the passage in Luke 10 where Jesus sent the seventy disciples out as forerunner-evangelists. He assigned them villages and places where He would be going. They were to go ahead of Him and preach the gospel as well as heal the sick, carrying nothing with them except the clothes on their backs. (Literally, they were not even to carry an overnight bag with undies and toothbrush!) God Himself had made arrangements for their provision. 

They were to go with one very simple plan. When they arrived in a town, they were to offer a blessing of peace at a house. If there was a man of peace there, he would receive the blessing and they would be welcomed into the home. They were not to look at the house, think "maybe we can find a more comfortable house down the road", and try to move on. That is not how the provision would work. When hospitality was offered, they were to accept it. There was to be no moving around to a bigger or more lavish accommodation later. They were to stay right there, graciously accepting what was offered, sticking it out, no matter how comfortable or how rough the accommodations might be. 

They were to eat and drink what they were given. I've had the responsibility to be involved in the hosting of "celebrities" from the faith community on occasion and, frankly, they would do well to read this passage. On one occasion, the list of requirements for their comfort was so astounding that I strongly considered that  we should cancel the contract. For a one-time concert, I ended up moving the contents of my living room to the venue to provide the required comfort. The list of food they required was equally astounding, and much of it went to waste. By the time they gave the concert, their fine words were utterly meaningless to me because of the demands for comfort that preceded it. This should not be the way we travel in the name of Jesus. 

We live in a society of entitlement and that philosophy has taken something of a hold on all of us. Jesus was very clear. Don't even think about what you are entitled to have. Take what comes and be glad of it. Receive the blessings of God and offer thanks for whatever He sends, whether lavish or simple. Why? Why did this accepting what was offered matter? Their response to what was offered was the first indication of the truth of the gospel. The fine words of the blessing of peace were just words until their actions demonstrated the veracity of those words, and so it is for us. Does our response to our circumstances demonstrate the truth of what we say we believe or not? If we are to be the "sent ones" of Christ (and we are), then our response to the gifts of God and His provision must demonstrate our gratitude for and acceptance of those gifts. 

Years ago, a career missionary in Central America told me there was a secret to serving that I would need to remember:

"Where He leads me I will follow. 

 What He feeds me I will swallow."

That missionary doctor had learned the secret of the "sent ones" and it made all the difference in His ability to obey. It will for us, too, dear ones. Let's be sure our wants and expectations take a back seat to the Hand of God. Stay where He sends. Eat what He gives. Show the world the heart of Christ in all we do. 

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The link to last night's post on being the hands of Christ is here

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The new book, The Waiting: When the Answer to Your Prayer is Delayed and Your Hope is Gone, as well as The Clay Papers and The Road to Bethlehem (an advent devotional guide) are now available at http://www.leannahollis.com/online-store/ Get your copy today.  

The Christ Child's Missing Hand

More than a decade ago, I received this lovely nativity set from dear friends and it has been a central part of my Christmas display every year since. Poor baby Jesus somehow lost one of his hands along the way. The damaged Christ child figurine always reminds me of a story that is told of a statue of Christ damaged during a war time bombing raid. Reportedly the statue's hands were broken off and a sign was attached that read, "Christ has no hands but your hands." (It is a lovely, touching story, but I have not been able to confirm its accuracy.) 

What I have learned is that Annie Johnston Flint wrote a poem that spoke of Christ having no hands but ours.  She was a gifted poet (1866-1932) who wrote a poem entitled "The World's Bible". I've included it here because it is just wonderful and well worth remembering.

The World's Bible

by Annie Johnston Flint

Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today;

He has no feet but our feet to lead men in His way;

He has no tongue but our tongues to tell men how He died;

He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

We are the only Bible the careless world will read;

We are the sinner's gospel, we are the scoffer's creed;

We are the Lord's last message, given in deed and word;

What if the type is crooked? What if the print is blurred?

What if our hands are busy with other work than His?

What if our feet are walking where sin's allurement is?

What if our tongues are speaking of things His lips would spurn"

How can we hope to help Him and hasten His return?

That wonderful poem says a sermon-full in just a few lines, doesn't it? Friends, if we are "the only Bible the careless world will read", and you can be sure we are, then we need to be careful of what message we give to that careless world. If a lost world looks to us to get the story about Jesus and the importance of Christ, we need to be sure we get our story straight. Especially during this Advent season, as we approach Christmas, we need to consider whether or not our celebration of the Birthday of The King is one that helps the world understand Who Jesus is and why He came. 

Tonight, let's ask ourselves, if we are the only Bible the careless world is reading this Christmas, what are they seeing about Jesus in us? Let's be sure they see the truth we meant them to see. 

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Sending the Seventy, part 9: The investment blessing

If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. (Luke 10:6 NASB)

"If you don't want that, I'll take it!" It's one of those comments you sometimes hear among family members at a meal (almost always one of the guys) when one person leaves a portion of food on their plate. We don't usually think of it in relation to blessings, but it is, in essence, what Jesus was suggesting. The sent ones were to offer a blessing of peace when they entered a house. If no one wanted to receive the blessing of Christ's peace, that was fine. The blessing of peace would return to the one who spoke it! That rejected blessing wasn't a wasted effort at all!

When we bless others, we are blessed in return, even when the one to whom we speak a blessing rejects the blessing. If they accept the blessing of peace, we have the joy of introducing someone to Jesus. If they reject the blessing, we have the joy of receiving that blessing back! The peace comes back to us, because we have been obedient in speaking the blessing. 

When Jesus instructed us to pray for our enemies, He did not promise that every enemy would become a friend. What He knew was that, even if the enemy rejects every effort of the Holy Spirit to change his/her heart, the prayers are not wasted. God can bring that blessing right back to us because of our obedience. 

Well, then, should we offer beautiful words of peace in order to gain peace ourselves? Of course not. First, we must obey Christ simply in order to obey Him, and for no other reason. Second, we cannot give what we do not have. Who would want the peace we offer if they can see that we do not have that peace ourselves? No one. This offering of the blessing of peace begins with the peace of God in our own hearts. 

It is when we have the peace of God that the fun truly begins! We who know Christ have an exciting time ahead if we are willing to offer the blessing of peace to all we see. It is guaranteed that we will receive a blessing in return. 100% return on your investment is a pretty nice return, isn't it? In these uncertain times, it's good to know of something with such rich rewards. Fear not. Freely offer the blessing of Christ's peace to all who will hear, and wait with expectant hearts for what God does in return. 

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If you need help with a too-busy schedule, the link to last night's post is here: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-jet-fuel-day.html

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The new book, The Waiting: When the Answer to Your Prayer is Delayed and Your Hope is Gone, as well as The Clay Papers and The Road to Bethlehem (an advent devotional guide) are now available at http://www.leannahollis.com/online-store/ Get your copy today.  

Sending the Seventy:part 4

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.

Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (Luke 10:1, 3 NASB)

Jesus told the seventy disciples that he was sending them out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Of course, he was speaking metaphorically, so it will help us  understand the metaphor to look at the difference between lambs and wolves. First, a lamb is a young sheep. It's still a baby and not yet fully matured. It still has growing to do. Sheep in general, and lambs in particular, are not capable of caring for themselves. They need a shepherd and for these particular lambs, that Shepherd was the Lord, Jesus Christ. Lambs graze as they go. They need clean water and green pastures. 

Wolves, on the other hand, are beautiful creatures, but they are carnivorous. They hunt and kill their prey. A lamb, alone and without its shepherd, is an easy mark for a wolf. When "wolf" is used as a metaphor for man, it usually refers to a greedy, cruel, destructive person, always on the prowl for more prey to devour. 

These "faith lambs" were heading into "wolf territory", Jesus told them. They would find themselves in the midst of people who were not lambs. They were not innocent and dependent upon the Good Shepherd. Some of those people would try to devour their faith and destroy their testimony if they could. The journey might be hard. The journey might be dangerous. Go anyway. Speak anyway. Try anyway. 

Our Lord, who knew that death and destruction awaited Him here, came anyway. He came to earth as God wrapped in a little baby to save us from our sin. In fact, there is far too much "wolf" in all of us and He came to change wolves into lambs. How incredible is that? The first thing that must happen to be a "sent one" is to allow our Divine One to change our own wolf to a lamb. When we are purified, cleansed, changed to become like a little lamb, willing to be led where He goes, willing to be fed where He provides, it is only then that we can be useful on the journey. The innocence of the lamb draws the wolf, but oh how amazing it is when the innocence of the lamb draws the wolf straight to Jesus! 

Dear ones, what about the wolf in us? Have we submitted it to Jesus, allowing that divine work of transformation to make a lamb of the wolf within? Are we willing to go, then, where the wolves dwell to draw them to Jesus? It won't be easy. In fact, we are promised that the way will be hard and the work will be dangerous, but it will be worth it, and we will not be alone. Are you willing to be a harvester? Will you be a lamb? 

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The new book, The Waiting: When the Answer to Your Prayer is Delayed and Your Hope is Gone, as well as The Clay Papers and The Road to Bethlehem (an advent devotional guide) are now available at http://www.leannahollis.com/online-store/ Get your copy today.  

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Here's the link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-fat-goat.html

Sending the Seventy, part 3

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (Luke 10:1-2 NASB)

The word translated as "Lord" is kyrios. It is a title of honor and respect given to a master by a servant and is one of the names given to the Messiah. It is used in this instance, however, a little differently. In this instance, the word indicates "he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord" (BLB) Lord, in this instance, means owner of the harvest. 

This is a marvelously complex concept, yet incredibly simple at the same time. Jesus, the Master and Lord of His followers, sent seventy disciples out to the places where He was going so they could prepare the way. There is a harvest of souls to be gathered, He told them, and I am sending you. The harvest is huge, however, and many more laborers are needed. Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers. 

Who is the Lord, or owner, of the harvest? Jesus. It is His word that acts as the seed that grows into the harvest. The harvest belongs to Him and He is the boss of the workers. What Jesus was telling them was, in the vernacular, "If you need more help, just let Me know." He knew more help was needed. He knew from the start that the job of harvesting was too big for the people He sent. Perhaps what He intended was that we would know that, too. 

When we understand that the work before us is God-sized and that it is far more than we can do alone, we are more likely to depend upon our Lord, the owner of the harvest, for help. We are more likely to do things His way, simply because we realize our way is inadequate. Take a look at the portion of the harvest to which God has assigned you. Is it too much for you? Too big a job? Wonderful! You are right where you need to be! If the task before you is too big, do what Jesus said to do. Ask Him for help. He who owns the harvest wants to get the harvest in and is happy to help. There is one requirement, though, and we often fail to meet it. If we need help (and we do), we have to ask for it. 

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Here's the link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-learning-place.html

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The new book, The Waiting: When the Answer to Your Prayer is Delayed and Your Hope is Gone, as well as The Clay Papers and The Road to Bethlehem (an advent devotional guide) are now available at http://www.leannahollis.com/online-store/ Get your copy today.  

The Learning Place

I have a lady who helps me with my housework a few hours a week. We bartered a deal a couple of years ago, and it has worked well for both of us. I'm not always home when she comes, but yesterday afternoon, I was. I wandered into the kitchen where she was working and she looked at my little hydroponic winter garden. 

Admittedly, it is a very small winter garden, but it is what it is. The plant in the middle is celery and the plants on the ends are romaine lettuce. As she was cleaning the counter, she said, "I've been wanting to ask you about this stuff in the water. It's kind of an unusual centerpiece. Is that celery in there?" I laughed. "It is," I said. "I cut off the end of some celery and it's growing in the water. That's lettuce on the ends." She was shocked. "How did you make that celery grow like that?" she asked. "Oh, all I did was trimmed the bottom and stuck it in the water. God did the rest." She just shook her head.  "I didn't know you could do that. And lettuce. I can't believe you are growing lettuce like that." I explained that I usually wait for roots to form, then transfer the plants to soil in a pot. It will grow until I harvest it. 

"I have learned the most stuff coming to your house. There's always something to learn here," she said. I laughed, but I've thought about it quite a bit since then. It pleases me to think that my house is filled with learning and adventure. I enjoy learning new skills and new information, and I also enjoy teaching what I learn. Wouldn't it be wonderful, though, if my house was so filled with God that what people said about coming here is that they always learn something about Him when they come? 

I think the reason my housekeeper learns something so often is that there is usually tangible evidence of my latest learning endeavor for her to see. Tangible evidence... What would be the tangible evidence of my learning endeavors with God? That's not quite as easy. It won't be celery in a bowl, that's for sure. Perhaps what she needs to see is tangible evidence in me.

When people look at our lives, do they see tangible evidence of our learning adventure with God? Let's be sure they do, so they can enjoy the adventure of a lifetime, too.  

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The new book, The Waiting: When the Answer to Your Prayer is Delayed and Your Hope is Gone, as well as The Clay Papers and The Road to Bethlehem (an advent devotional guide) are now available at http://www.leannahollis.com/online-store/ Get your copy today.  

Sending the Seventy

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (Luke 10:1-2 NASB)

Just as Jesus sent the disciples out in ministry pairs, now we see Him sending seventy other followers. They were to go to all the cities and places where Jesus was headed and preach and heal. Just imagine it! Two followers would go into a village and share the good news of Jesus. "The Messiah has come!" they would tell the people. They probably offered to pray for the sick, knowing that God already planned to heal them. Of course, people would be excited about the healing and the pair of disciples would say, "You think this is good? You haven't seen anything yet! Jesus is coming soon!"

These people were sent to prepare the way and introduce Jesus. Jesus described it as a harvest that was plentiful. He explained that there are many people who will come to Him if they hear the good news about Him, but they can't believe if they don't hear. Jesus understood how hard it is to leave home and go to a foreign place where everyone is a stranger. He understood because He left the best place of all to come to a world that would reject and kill Him. 

There is a big harvest of souls available, Jesus explained, but not enough workers to get the harvest in. More workers are urgently needed. ALL of us are responsible for bringing in the harvest. Every single follower of Christ is responsible for the harvest. It is shameful to leave a harvest of grain in the field. It is even worse to leave a harvest of souls not gathered. 

We fall into one of two areas of responsibility about the harvest. Either we are the one who goes into the field to get the harvest in or we are the one who prays for more workers. We do not have the option to disregard the harvest. A quick "Bless the missionaries" prayer is not what our Lord had in mind here. The one who stays and prays is to approach the harvest with all the fervor and commitment of the one who goes to the field. That's a strong statement, isn't it? Read what Jesus said once more. There are two jobs. Going and praying. Both are vital. Both must be done with enthusiasm, committment, and perseverance.  

There is a harvest of souls waiting to hear the good news of Jesus and God's love. It's our job, mine and yours, to make sure they hear. Are you called to go or to pray? Let's be sure we are doing our part to bring light and hope to a dark and lonely world that will perish without the grace and mercy of God. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/12/staying-close-to-herd.htmlhttp://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/12/staying-close-to-herd.html

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The new book, The Waiting: When the Answer to Your Prayer is Delayed and Your Hope is Gone, as well as The Clay Papers and The Road to Bethlehem (an advent devotional guide) are now available at http://www.leannahollis.com/online-store/ Get your copy today.