Jesus defines success for us. He does not redefine success, he defines it. When we say that Jesus redefines something, we are defaulting to a man centered world rather than a God centered world. God defines things; we are the ones who redefine them and we usually do so very poorly. Jesus defines success as faithful participation in reproducing his Kingdom inside churches and communities.
We live in a winner take all world. According to this value system, the one with the biggest pile wins and everybody else loses. In the Kingdom of God, the one with the most is not automatically the most successful in the eyes of the King. Why? Because Jesus taught us that all of our personal assets, the totality of who we are and what we can do, and the opportunity to enjoy and reproduce those assets are a gift from God, so bragging about who has the most converts or the biggest church or who has sold the most books is not only vain but nonsensical. Even worse, it is the value system of the world, and that is enmity with God.
God, however, does give each of us different measures of Kingdom participation. Success in Kingdom participation is exactly the same for everyone: God’s pronouncement of “Well done good and faithful servant,” but the measure of participation varies according to the opportunity to reproduce what we have been given. The amount that each person has is not the point, what we do with what we have been given is the point. It all turns on the wheel of opportunity. Some have five measures of opportunity, and they are given five measures of assets and the corresponding responsibility to reproduce them within a church and/or their community. Some are given two and some one. The spectrum of opportunity and responsibility is wide because it includes everyone; each of us is given the responsibility to reproduce our assets according to the opportunities we have. In other words, we are to invest our lives, such as they are, in the Kingdom of God.
We are supposed to reproduce what we have been given so the Kingdom of God grows. The person who had five measures of assets doubled what he was given. The person with two also doubled theirs. This refers to the nature of discipleship. Making disciples is reproducing a way of life within other people that learns from Jesus, and we learn about everything from him. He teaches us directly about the rule and reign of God in this world as we read the accounts of his words and deeds in the Bible. He also teaches us many things indirectly because the Holy Spirit he sent into the world taught his original disciples even further about his teachings and then empowered them to record them in such a way that reading the Bible is like listening to Jesus teaching again. Discipleship is about life; life in the Kingdom in submission to the reign of God in the person of Jesus. Making disciples is reproducing that life.
The human race lives in vast population and variety, so reproducing a way of life among the peoples of the earth that learns from Jesus requires everyone to be involved in thousands and thousands of different ways and contexts. Where we do that, how we do that, when we do that and with whom all depend on the measure of opportunity we have to fulfill this Kingdom responsibility to reproduce the assets we have been given by Jesus within the lives of other people; make disciples.
The guy who had been given one measure of opportunity and responsibility failed. He did not reproduce the assets he had been given and was, therefore, declared an unfaithful servant. He failed because he was afraid. His fear came from a twisted view of his master’s sovereignty. The servant reasoned that the absolute power and sovereignty of his master actually absolved him of his responsibility to reproduce the assets his master had given him because the will of his master was always accomplished anyway, so why risk any personal failure with just one asset. The servant thought he simply needed to trust in the sovereignty of his master to grow his own Kingdom. This seemed wise to him, but Jesus said he was wicked and lazy. His ultimate failure had nothing to do with an amount of assets but with his misunderstanding of the masters sovereignty which led him to do nothing.
We live in a winner take all world. According to this value system, the one with the biggest pile wins and everybody else loses. In the Kingdom of God, the one with the most is not automatically the most successful in the eyes of the King. Why? Because Jesus taught us that all of our personal assets, the totality of who we are and what we can do, and the opportunity to enjoy and reproduce those assets are a gift from God, so bragging about who has the most converts or the biggest church or who has sold the most books is not only vain but nonsensical. Even worse, it is the value system of the world, and that is enmity with God.
God, however, does give each of us different measures of Kingdom participation. Success in Kingdom participation is exactly the same for everyone: God’s pronouncement of “Well done good and faithful servant,” but the measure of participation varies according to the opportunity to reproduce what we have been given. The amount that each person has is not the point, what we do with what we have been given is the point. It all turns on the wheel of opportunity. Some have five measures of opportunity, and they are given five measures of assets and the corresponding responsibility to reproduce them within a church and/or their community. Some are given two and some one. The spectrum of opportunity and responsibility is wide because it includes everyone; each of us is given the responsibility to reproduce our assets according to the opportunities we have. In other words, we are to invest our lives, such as they are, in the Kingdom of God.
We are supposed to reproduce what we have been given so the Kingdom of God grows. The person who had five measures of assets doubled what he was given. The person with two also doubled theirs. This refers to the nature of discipleship. Making disciples is reproducing a way of life within other people that learns from Jesus, and we learn about everything from him. He teaches us directly about the rule and reign of God in this world as we read the accounts of his words and deeds in the Bible. He also teaches us many things indirectly because the Holy Spirit he sent into the world taught his original disciples even further about his teachings and then empowered them to record them in such a way that reading the Bible is like listening to Jesus teaching again. Discipleship is about life; life in the Kingdom in submission to the reign of God in the person of Jesus. Making disciples is reproducing that life.
The human race lives in vast population and variety, so reproducing a way of life among the peoples of the earth that learns from Jesus requires everyone to be involved in thousands and thousands of different ways and contexts. Where we do that, how we do that, when we do that and with whom all depend on the measure of opportunity we have to fulfill this Kingdom responsibility to reproduce the assets we have been given by Jesus within the lives of other people; make disciples.
The guy who had been given one measure of opportunity and responsibility failed. He did not reproduce the assets he had been given and was, therefore, declared an unfaithful servant. He failed because he was afraid. His fear came from a twisted view of his master’s sovereignty. The servant reasoned that the absolute power and sovereignty of his master actually absolved him of his responsibility to reproduce the assets his master had given him because the will of his master was always accomplished anyway, so why risk any personal failure with just one asset. The servant thought he simply needed to trust in the sovereignty of his master to grow his own Kingdom. This seemed wise to him, but Jesus said he was wicked and lazy. His ultimate failure had nothing to do with an amount of assets but with his misunderstanding of the masters sovereignty which led him to do nothing.
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