During this year, I’ve spent some time in the four Gospels in the New Testament, trying to follow Jesus’s invitation to “learn of me” (Matthew 11:29). In the process, I’ve given thought to why most of the rulers of the Jews at the time rejected Him, and those who believed were afraid to profess that belief. It may be a soul-searching question to ask, “If I had lived at that time, would I have followed Him?” especially at this time of year when much of the world celebrates His birth.
For those who believe Jesus Christ will set foot upon the earth again, this time “coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 24:30) in the fulness of His glory, that day can’t come soon enough. However, as much as we would like Him to come today or tomorrow, His purposes and His plan must be fulfilled leading up to that event.
One of those purposes is preparation. So that His truth and mercy can be offered to every kindred, nation, tongue, and people to give them a chance to be ready, the Lord began calling prophets and apostles in these times and restored His Church as He organized it in the meridian of time. His prophet and apostles are ensuring that His words are going forth throughout the world, giving as many as will listen a chance to learn of the gospel of Jesus Christ and become His disciples—a process that takes time.
One of the first steps in this process was the translation of a record left behind by ancient inhabitants of the American continents, an additional testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God.
I imagine that most, if not all, parents have heard this, or a variation on it, from a child. From an early age, children develop the sense that if someone says something that sets certain positive expectations—intentionally or otherwise—it’s a promise. And they sense that promises to them must be kept.
Of course, from the perspective of the adult, sometimes we didn’t intend a statement as a promise at all, which is probably why we find ourselves hedging with responses like “We’ll see” or “Maybe.” We like the wiggle room that gives us, but it hardly instills trust and confidence in our little people. I think that’s one reason why God tends to be more direct.
Not only did Jesus come into the world to bring life, to save and to rescue, He also seeks to enlist us in His cause. He ascended into heaven, but His purposes have not concluded.
He is represented in the Parable of the Sergeant by the lieutenant, who informed the troops under his command that others needed rescuing through a difficult mission. The sergeant represents His servants the prophets and apostles, but he could also be any one of us. We also can be among the members of the squad who stood with their leader, who because of their trust are willing to follow his lead.
An individual accounting to the Lord after our mortal lives was depicted by Jesus in His parable of the talents. The landowner spoke with each servant individually and received a report of what each accomplished in his absence. The language in verses 20, 22, and 24 suggests that the landowner didn’t require each servant to report to him in front of the rest or any other type of larger audience.
In the Parable of the Silver Pitcher, we can see another individual trust, the response to that trust over time, and the final accounting. Sandra represents any one of us, and her mother represents the Lord. The pitcher itself could be any of a number of things that He has entrusted us with, such as our physical bodies, our spirits, the earth, each other.
The Weekly Parable 