Responsibility

 August 4, 2021

There comes a time when you have to let go of the bar, trusting your partner has timed it well and will catch you. I’m thinking tonight of the trapeze artist who if she never lets go of the bar will never “fly through the air with the greatest of ease.” Of course, there is no ease to it, but months and years of practice to make something extremely difficult look like a piece of cake.

I’m finding myself trying to figure out how to let go of the bar. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the familiar story of the Talents, or more accurately the three servants. When reading this, I’ve usually been focused on the “wicked, lazy” servant who buried the master’s money in the ground instead of investing it. This morning, it was the faithful servants who drew my attention. The master’s commendation wasn’t a monetary reward, but a promotion. “You have been faithful over a few things; I will make. You ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (vv. 21 & 23). In other words, they each earned a promotion.

This is different than how we often imagine our eternal reward to be. The common cartoonish picture is of haloed saints sitting on a cloud playing harps, which has caused more than a few to reject faith in Christ as leading to eternal boredom. But what if this isn’t talking about heaven and eternal rewards at all? What if Jesus is teaching us about how things are ordered here in this world when we set ourselves about the Father’s business?

I’ve been retired for seven years, and still haven’t figured it out. Am I supposed to take it easy or find a new challenge? I don’t want or feel able to push as I once did, but sitting on the sidelines holds no attraction to me. I watch people who spend leisure hours on a boat or touring the country or world, and though there are places I would like to see, most of them would require more time and money than I’m willing to give for the privilege. To me, the better reward is not rest, but responsibility. Anything less feels like burying my talent. 

So what is the bar? For me, I think it’s rest/leisure. There is part of me wanting to hold onto it. I know I need to put more effort into carving out my time for the Lord, giving him full, undivided attention. But that time has purpose. We retreat to recharge, that we may receive greater responsibility. Tomorrow awaits, filled with opportunity and challenges, and tonight, I await tomorrow with anticipation.