Initiative Matters
Jesus told a story about a master who gave money to three servants and then left on a journey. He gave them differing amounts to handle. In the end, the one with the least amount hid it out of fear he might lose it and be severely punished when the master returned. The other two invested what they had and made more.
The master was pleased with the two who took the initiative to invest his money and made more, but he was displeased with the one who played it safe. The one who played it safe did so based on his perspective of what the master was like. His view of the master misled him.
Matthew 25:24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
God loves initiative. He loves it when we know His love so much that we imagine He would be pleased with our stepping out in faith for His glory.
This parable is really about that. Jesus was seeking to convey the importance of knowing the Father well enough to realize that we can step out in faith in our desire to bring Him glory, and He will back us up. He will not deride us or rebuke us for risking things for His name’s sake. The point Jesus is making is that the wrong view of the Father leads to being overly cautious and failing to bear fruit for Him out of fear of Him.
When people lack the New Covenant gospel understanding as they should, they imagine God would be more pleased with them being very careful not to take any risks by stepping out into something that feels unknown to them. They do not want to do anything foolish to provoke His anger toward them because they see Him as easily angered and easily provoked. They have an incorrect view of God as a Father.
Those who know His deep love and His being slow to anger boldly step out, expecting that, as a Father, He would pleased at their initiative to do something to honor Him by bearing fruit for His name’s sake.
A wrong perspective leads to living in a false sense of safety by avoiding risks in the kingdom. It denies what might really be happening in the soul.
Matthew 25:26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
God, as a Father, loves to see His children trust in His love to the depth and degree that they are willing to step out in faith and take risks in their effort to bear His fruit. Heaven doesn’t get shocked or shamed if we make a mistake in our effort—initiative matters.
