In
the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus gave the illustration of
three servants who were given money to invest. Two of them earned good returns.
With the World Series coming up, you could say the first servant hit a home run
and the second had an RBI double.
“Well
done,” said their master/manager.
The
third servant in the parable was scared to make a wrong move so he made sure he
didn’t lose the money. You could say he refused to swing the bat, hoping for a walk, and was called
out on strikes. The coach was not happy.
I’ve
always wished Jesus had introduced a fourth servant. What about a guy who
invests the money and loses it? He swings with all his might but strikes
out. Does the master say, “Poorly done, good and faithful servant?”
I’ve
been mulling that one over. Maybe Jesus didn’t include the servant who tries
and fails because He’ll make sure there is a return of some sort on
our investment. Maybe He congratulates us on the fact that we gathered the
courage to act. Maybe he’s telling us that if we make the effort to step out in
faith and use our talents for Him, our willingness to serve contributes to eternal
victories.
God
gives us all kinds of abilities, and He wants us to use them for His glory.
Those of us in ACFW were born to communicate through story. We may never sell a
blockbuster novel, but we pour words into our stories and blogs, striving to honor
Jesus.
Some
agents and editors will love our work. Some won’t. Our readers let us know what
they like and what they don’t.
When
readers tell me how I’ve encouraged them, that’s like a “Well done, good and
faithful servant.”
By faith, I
invest time and labor in my God-given talent to write. He is the one who
makes my writing profitable—for someone. I step up to the plate, swing the bat,
and I either…
·
Hit
a home run with a blockbuster novel,
·
Or sacrifice
fly for an RBI as I review and praise others’ books,
·
Or
strike out--swinging--with a flop, according to my critics.
Jesus sees every word I write for Him. I do it for His
glory. If the world doesn’t buy it, that’s okay. As long as it’s for His glory it’s “well
done.”
Linda Sammaritan writes realistic fiction, mostly for kids
ages ten to fourteen. She is currently working on a middle grade trilogy, World Without Sound, based on her own
experiences growing up with a deaf sister.
Linda had always figured she’d teach middle-graders until
school authorities presented her with a retirement wheelchair at the overripe
age of eighty-five. However, God changed those plans when He gave her a growing
passion for writing fiction. In May of 2016, she blew goodbye kisses to her
students and dedicated her work hours to learning the craft.
A wife, mother of three, grandmother to seven, Linda regales
the youngest grandchildren with “Nona Stories,” tales of her childhood. Maybe
one day those stories will be in picture books!
Where Linda can be found on the web:
No comments:
Post a Comment