Durham church of Christ, 5224 Wake Forest Highway, Durham, NC (2026)

10/01/2021

Kinda lengthy but a good read if you miss hugs and handshakes
Tom

Touching
GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICALS

Number 676 • October 3, 2021

NOT UNTOUCHABLE BUT TOUCHABLE, TOUCHED AND NOT UNTOUCHED

One of the things I miss most during this time of “social distancing” and prohibited personal contact is the freedom to “reach out and touch” each other. Hugs and holy kisses are forbidden. We have been made to think we all, not only ourselves but all others, are truly untouchable – physically and socially untouchable. Do you know what that does to one’s soul and psyche? To be untouchable and therefore untouched is, perhaps, understandable and tolerable, to some extent. But to be touchable and yet untouched is incomprehensible – how can one live with that? The principle applies both physically and figuratively – socially and spiritually. We can touch and be touched without physical contact, and that is perhaps more important and more beneficial than mere hands-on contact. That’s the point I want to develop in this essay.

Two things have made a notable impact on my thinking, one current and the other called to mind from the somewhat distant past but still memorable and instructive. Both have made indelible impressions on me – I have learned some important things about myself, about others, and about my Savior Lord that I trust will stay with me always and will influence my treatment of others and what I hope to receive from others, especially as a Christian man.

I will refer first to the remote memory, now several years in the past. I had taken a seriously physically handicapped person to a medical facility for examination and treatment. He was plagued at the time by a severe and widespread eruptive infection in the skin of his arms chest and back. It was repugnant to see, not something even he himself wanted to touch. I was asked to stay in the examination room during his encounter with the medical staff – he was confined to a wheelchair and would need someone he trusted to assist him in facilitating the treatment. I do not remember many of the assembled staff, but I have a very clear memory of the doctor, what she said to my disabled brother and what she did for him to alleviate his suffering. She was kind and gentle, very thorough, touching and manipulating his affected areas (gloved, of course) – I’m amazed at what doctors learn by feeling their patients and what more they learn by feeling with them – all the while reassuring him that she wanted to help him and would be able to help him, to give him some relief and hope that he was not among the incurables. Many of the sores, disturbances and growths on his skin needed to be removed. She said freezing them with a liquid hydrogen spray would be effective, though the process could be painful. He agreed to have it done. She had him sign a request for the treatment and said to him – not in jest but somewhat lightheartedly – “Your signature here gives me permission to hurt you.” He smiled. She smiled. What she did next was painful to watch, painful for him to endure, and she asked him several times if was still wanted to continue. I remember the interchange because I have heard those same words from that same doctor several times when receiving treatment for some of my own afflictions. After helping him into my car to take him back to his home I asked him what he thought about his treatment by this doctor. Here’s what he said, in his own words,

“I feel like I’ve been touched by an angel. No, not an angel of God but an angel of the medical arts, the healing arts, someone who honestly cared about the one she was giving care to.”

Then he added something that has resonated with me for all this time. He called her “a very special someone who was willing to hurt me in order to help me, and that why I call her an angel, a great example of what a healer and helper ought to be.”

She actually did bring improvement and a degree of healing to him. I’ve thought about it and I think he was probably justified in calling her an angel of healing – angel is not a religious word; it means literally a messenger, someone who brings a message and/or help to someone in need of it. I would gladly recommend this messenger from the Healer if I were allowed to, or were called upon to do so.

The second thing that set me thinking now was reading something from a friend and fellow minister of Christ, a co-worker with me for a time in the Lord’s church in England UK., an author and co-publisher of The Christian Worker, an outstanding magazine for the churches of Christ in the UK. The words I have in mind are from his closing editorial in the July 2021 edition of the magazine (I can link you to it if you desire). There my esteemed brother Trevor Williams – I do not hesitate and am not restrained from naming him – wrote about what it must have been like, what it would be like, to be literally touched, having the hands of Jesus laid on us. Imagine that: touched, not by an angel or even by a close human friend or acquaintance, but by that Paragon of holiness and virtue, the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God – to be cuddled (Trevor’s term) in Jesus’ arms (we might say to be hugged by Him), consoled and calmed, supported and sustained through our troubles and trials. Imagine being told by Him, “This may hurt a bit and may cause you some stress, but it is necessary to do it if I’m to be a proper help for you.” This comforting strengthening hand of Jesus is what we sing about: “Precious Jesus, take my hand; lift me up, let me stand.” What comfort we have in being able to feel “Safe in the arms of Jesus.”

Trevor mentions several times in the gospel according to Mark that Jesus touched persons, some of whom would have been deemed untouchable by society and by the Jewish “church” of His day. Here are the references: I suggest you read them now to see where the Lord’s hands were placed and upon whom: Peter’s mother in law (1:31), a l***r (1:41), a dead child (5:41), a deaf man (7:33), a blind man (8:23). A evil spirit-infested boy (9:26). We also read of Jesus breaking bread with his own hands to feed people (6:41, 8:6), and at the institution of the Lord’s supper (14:16). The time when Jesus took children into his arms, put His hands on them and blessed them (10:16) was specially poignant. If being touched by a loving human is a wonderful blessing how much greater would it be to be touched by the loving Lord himself?

We have already mentioned the possibility of figurative or non-physical touching. Let us pursue that thought a bit further. F***y Crosby’s song, Rescue the Perishing, says in the third verse:

“Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter, feelings lie buried that grace can restore; touched by a loving hand, wakened by kindness, chords that were broken will vibrate once more.”

Jesus said we should do unto and for others as we would want done to and for ourselves (Matthew 7:12). I don’t think it is out of line to translate that as: do to and for others what you think Jesus would do. Shouldn’t we be as loving, careful, and merciful as Jesus was and is by reaching out and touching others in His name? I think you must and will say yes to that. Treat others the way Jesus would treat them. Does Jesus care? Oh yes, He cares. Then care for others the way He cares. Will Jesus help? Oh yes, He will. Then help, when you can, the way Jesus would help. I repeat: if a loving person’s touch is meaningful and wonderful, how much more would be the touch of the loving Lord! Now here is a further thought: how meaningful and wonderful would be the touch of the Lord’s messenger (you and I can be like angels, messengers of and from the Lord, delivering His message and touching others in His name as He himself would do and wants us to do). He can touch others through us. My brother Trevor added something which I want to echo.

“I look at my own hands now and see the hands of an old man, no longer able to do what they once did but still able to be put together in prayer, to hold someone else , to say that I care, and try to be a blessing to others. When we reach out and touch it tells the other persons that they are special, that we want them involved with us, and that we care. Though we may not be able to bless as Jesus blessed we can be his voice, his representative, his hands and his human touch.”

When it becomes legal, safe and permitted again I intend to practice touching, hugging, and holy-kissing “in the name of the Lord” all those who come within my reach – including my cyber-reach (by telephone, postal service, email), and pray (as Trevor does) that those whose hearts and lives can be touched by God and His Christ and His Spirit will in fact themselves be touched in mind and heart and life by Him, through me. I will say, “I want to give you a blessing in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.”

08/17/2021

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A declaration of independence
GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICALS
Number 656 • July 4, 2021

A DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE

I remember a Barbra Streisand song from the 1960’s with the words, “People, people who need people are the luckiest people in the world” (from the Broadway musical play Funny Girl). There is a great truth here that is often missed. Everybody needs somebody, sometime, for something – and the person who recognizes and acknowledges it is more likely to have his needs met than one who does not. Many are not aware of their personal needs. Some deny that they need anything or anyone but themselves. The macho tough guy image is in with many people today (both male and female are afflicted with feelings of independence). Any person who admits needing help is a “wimp, dweeb, nerd” (there are some terms worse than these).

“INDEPENDENCE” IS ILLUSION — FANTASY.

Would you sign this declaration of independence? “I have never needed, do not now need, and never will need anyone or anything that I cannot do for myself.” If you feel this way, you’ll probably never get a decent haircut – and you’d better hope you never have to have your tonsils or appendix removed. Most people who claim independence do not intend their words to be taken literally, or pushed to extremes. But why say something you do not (and cannot) mean?
If taken literally, what does it mean to say that one has not needed, does not need, and will not need anyone or anything else – that one is truly independent? It is like saying, I am self-sufficient. I can supply all my own needs. I am self-existent and self-producing. I have always existed, and I gave myself the life I now live in this body and in this world. I am self-determining. I am not answerable to anyone or anything other than myself. I am self-sustaining and self-perpetuating. I stay alive, and I will never allow myself to die, or cease to exist. I am independent of all things, dependent upon no person, power, or thing (including both man and God?). Actually, only a madman would make such a claim. Neither a person nor a nation can make such a claim. We did not produce ourselves. Each of us is subject to natural law in a world we did not produce. Each of us has limitations – each needs things we cannot supply for ourselves. We have needs which we cannot fulfill.

WE ARE DEPENDENT UPON (WE HONESTLY NEED) OTHER PEOPLE.

We depend upon and we are the product of those who have gone before us, for physical resources, social structure and civilization, language and communication skills, religious and civil liberties, national identity and heritage. We are dependent upon those around us now for companionship, supplying what we are not able to do for ourselves, such as teaching, healing, etc. To accept these things from others without acknowledging the debt or without expressing gratitude is a sure sign of insensitivity.

WE ARE DEPENDENT UPON GOD TOO. LET US COUNT THE WAYS.

We depend upon a world created, sustained, kept dependably stable, and governed by “natural laws” over which we have no control. So we are physically dependent upon God. This implies dependence upon a Creator (Gen. 1:1). The earth is the Lord’s and we are stewards of it (Psalm 24:1, 1 Cor. 4:2). We are mentally dependent upon God. “Science” can only find and explain what the Creator has already placed in the world – present or potential. All truth is from God, no matter who helps us to find it, in any category that one can mention (John 17:17, 1 John 1:5). We are morally dependent upon God. Of course there is something to be said for relative or contextual morality. See for example 1 Cor. 11:16 in its context. But moral truth is ultimately from God. The absolute standard of right and wrong – revealed and preserved for us in scripture (2 Peter 1:1-4, 2 Tim. 3:16-17) – is from God. Nations too are guided by and subject to the moral principles of God’s word (Rom. 13:1ff) Contextual or cultural latitude must be sanctioned by the scripture. It cannot set scripture aside (Mt. 15:8-9, John 10:35). We are spiritually dependent upon God. Not only for truth about God and our own spiritual being, but also for resolution of the sin problem, for salvation from sin provided by God through the sacrifice of Christ, and not from ourselves (Rom. 5:1-8, 6:3-4). We are socially dependent upon God. He adds the saved together into one body, for fellowship with himself and with each other as His people (1 John 1:4 and 7, Acts 2:47, Eph. 2:21f). Each person needs the church, more than the church needs any person. All social needs can be met by and in the church – if all were truly Christian, there would be only one church in all the world, with all people in it. We are emotionally dependent upon God. Peace, love, joy, hope, etc. come only to those who accept, acknowledge, and adjust to the relationship to God and others that is prescribed in the New Testament (Gal. 5:22, 2 Peter 1:5-10). Peace – emotional stability and spiritual serenity – is from God, for those who seek Him and obey Him in the Christ (Phil. 4:4-9).

WE ARE INTERDEPENDENT. WE LIVE AS NEEDY PEOPLE AMONG NEEDY OTHERS.

The illusion of independence from others allows one not only to claim that he himself needs no one, but also to insist that others be independent too. Independence is no more possible for others than it is for you, or me. But insisting that others be independent is a way of telling them that they must “shift for themselves and take care of themselves,” that they must not make any claims upon you or depend upon you for anything. Complete dependence upon others is not healthy. At best it is immature and childish. “Conduct yourselves like men” – in a mature and grown-up way (1 Cor. 16:13). At worst it is laziness, being a parasite, taking everything and giving nothing. Compare 2 Thess. 3:10 “If one will not work, neither let him eat.” Also Eph. 4:28 “Steal no more, but work…to have something to give to the (genuinely) needy.”

The healthy concept of human relationships is that we are interdependent. It is a kind of symbiosis. We need each other. We receive from others and give to others, so that everyone’s needs are met. This is the biblical plan for church members (Eph. 4:15f, 1 Cor. 12:12-27), and it applies to all human relationships (1 John 4:17-18, Gal. 6:9-10). Obviously the concept of interdependence cannot be applied to our relationship with God. God does not actually need anything we can do for Him (Acts 17:24-25). But He desires worship and service from those who receive His blessings (John 4:23-24, Rom. 12:1-2, Phil. 2:12-13). He desires to use us as His instruments to teach, serve, and otherwise bless others (2 Cor. 4:5, 5:20, 6:1).

CONCLUSION.

As every person and all people come to realize and appreciate our interdependence, the world situation will improve for all people everywhere. We will not think more highly of ourselves than we should (Rom. 12:3). We will not think less of others than we should (Luke 18:9, Phil. 2:3-4). I cheerfully acknowledge that I need and depend upon many others, and I am glad to be responsible to and for those who depend upon me. It is necessary that we understand and acknowledge our debt to those who have kept the faith, who have taught and are teaching the truth of God, who continue to walk faithfully with God. But above all, we must acknowledge our dependence upon God and the truth that is only from Him (2 Cor. 1:9b, 2:16b, 3:5-6a and 9:8). I confess that I am dependent upon God, the Creator, giver and sustainer of all that is good and needful in life – the Savior of my soul now and forever (2 Tim. 1:12) “I know Him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him.”

07/26/2021

Hugh’s News & Views (How Do You…?)
HOW DO YOU SPELL “CHURCH”?

Based on the divine fact that He is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus promised to build His church (Matthew 16:13-18). With His blood He purchased the church (Acts 20:28). The church was established on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ, as we read in Acts 2. This was in fulfillment of divine prophecy (Isaiah 2:2-3; Daniel 2:44; Joel 2:28-32) and in fruition of Christ’s promise to His apostles (Mark 9:1; Acts 1:4-5, 8; Acts 2:1-4). (See also John 13:20; John 14:26; John 16:13). On that memorable Pentecost about three thousand souls responded positively to the words preached by the apostles, repented of their sins, were baptized for the remission of their sins, and thus were saved from their sins and added to the church (Acts 2:36-47). The church is the aggregate of all who believe the gospel and obey it in its purity. It is not a denomination formed by men that people can choose from among other denominations to “join.” The church of Christ is not something less than all those who have been redeemed from their sins by the blood of Christ.

The word “church” is from the Greek word “ekklesia” and means “the called out,” those “called out” of the world by the gospel (II Thessalonians 2:14) and constituted into the people of God (I Peter 2:10; I John 5:19). The church is God’s house (household, family) (I Timothy 3:15), and every child of God is a member of it by virtue of the new birth (John 3:1-5; Galatians 3:26-27). The church is God’s spiritual house, His holy priesthood, His chosen generation (elect race, ASV), His holy nation (I Peter 2:4-9).

While “church” is an important and significant word to identify the saved people of God, it is not the exclusive word used in Scripture to refer to them. The people of God also are described as the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22-23), the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:2-33; Revelation 21:9), the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13, cf. Acts 2:47), the family of God (I Timothy 3:15), and other descriptive terms which the discerning reader of the New Testament will discover. None of these designations are proper names and, significantly, none of them are capitalized in any English translation of the New Testament of which I am aware. The Bible does not refer to the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the Family of God, the Kingdom of God’s dear Son, the Church of God, or the Church of Christ! (Note the capitalization of body, bride, family, kingdom, and church in the preceding sentence). The scholars who translated our New Testament from Greek into English universally and uniformly did not capitalize these terms! To capitalize “church” and not capitalize the other terms is the height of inconsistency. And when one writes of the church of God (with a little “c”) in its biblical sense (I Corinthians 1:2; 11:22; et al), but then writes of the Church of Christ (with a big “C”), I am made to wonder if they have in mind two different institutions. Biblically, they both are the same and consistency demands that they both should be spelled the same way!

Many fine, faithful Christians, without giving much if any thought to the matter, may quite innocently write of the Church of Christ or the Churches of Christ. I do not “fall out” with them or make the way they write about the church (big “C” or little “c”) a test of fellowship, and toward them I have no desire to appear hypercritical. I would, however, urge them to think through their concept of the church and the way they write about it (big “C” or little “c”) and what it conveys to others. Second Timothy 4:13 and I Peter 4:11 certainly have relevance at this point.

On the other hand, it has become increasingly obvious with the passing of the years that there are those among us who no longer have (if they ever had) an undenominational concept of the church. Several generations have now arisen in the church who have not been taught the undenominational nature of the church and such teaching has been grossly neglected in many congregations. To many members, the church of Christ is just another denomination and their agenda is to speak and to write of it in such a way as to portray it as a denomination. Thus, they write about the “Church of Christ” and the “Churches of Christ,” having something entirely different in mind from what the New Testament means by these terms and something different from the church of God, the body of Christ, the family of God, the kingdom of God’s dear Son, the bride of Christ, or simply the church in its New Testament sense. To them, the church of Christ is but a segment, a part of the universal body of Christ. Those plagued with this kind of unbiblical thinking delight in speaking of the church of Christ as “our fellowship,” “our tradition,” “our tribe,” “our tributary,” “our little corner of the kingdom,” etc. With all such I have a great problem and will continue to relentlessly battle with them and their unbiblical thinking, speaking, and writing about the church of my Lord!

I know that denominational people believe that they are members of the one universal body (church) of Christ. They view themselves as being members of the Baptist branch, the Catholic branch, the Presbyterian branch, the Lutheran branch, the Methodist branch, the Disciples of Christ branch, etc., etc. of Christ’s church. They would all argue that they are members of the one church that Christ established. But neither their concept of the church nor their contention about being members of the one body of Christ can be sustained by the New Testament itself. God is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33), Christ prayed for the unity (not the division) of all who would believe in Him (John 17:20-21), Paul severely rebuked the division (denominationalism in embryo form) in the church at Corinth (I Corinthians 1:10-13), and laid down the divine platform on which all of God’s people could be united (Ephesians 4:1-6). There still is but one body (Ephesians 4:4) and that one body is the church (Ephesians 1:22-23). Denominational churches and denominational divisions can never be made to fit into the New Testament picture and concept of the church! To comply with the conditions for becoming a member of a denomination is vastly different from hearing, believing, and obeying the gospel, being saved from sin, and added to the church of the Lord (Acts 2:47)!

I am not Church of Christ, I am not a Church of Christer, I did not attend a Church of Christ school, I am not a Church of Christ preacher, I do not serve Church of Christ churches, and I am not a member of a Church of Christ congregation. All of these expressions reflect a denominational concept of the church and I will continue to resist both the thinking and the speaking and writing that promote such a concept. I am simply a Christian, a member of the one body of Christ, a citizen in the kingdom of God’s dear Son, a child in the family of God, a member of the church of God. I attended a Christian high school and a Christian college, I am simply a gospel preacher, I profess to be nothing but a minister (servant) of Christ, I serve the brotherhood of Christ (I Peter 2:17), I am a member of a local autonomous congregation/church (the two words mean exactly the same) of God’s saints.

Now for a brief caveat to the above: In our modern world where the churches of Christ own real estate, church buildings, homes for their preachers, church vans and buses, etc., it is necessary for these congregations to have a legal proper name. By civil law, such is required. In such a case, it is in order (and good grammar requires) that these legal entities, with corresponding proper names, identify themselves as, for example, Main Street Church of Christ, Central Church of Christ, Portland Church of Christ, etc. Capitalization of the word “church” in this context is not for the purpose of showing it to be a denomination, but to show it to be a legal entity with a proper name, and proper names require capitalization. And while it is only a personal matter with me, it goes against the rules of grammar to write “Main Street church of Christ.” When using the word “church” as part of the proper name of a legal entity, by all means capitalize it! But when speaking of the church in its general sense, either universally or locally, respect the New Testament concept of the church and speak and write accordingly!

And, yes, I am ready to be accused of being a nitpicker, of making a mountain out of a molehill, etc., etc. I am prepared for those who ask, “What difference does it make?” Again, I will not “fall out” with those who, without having thought through the matter, write of the Church of Christ and the Churches of Christ. I will not “fall out” with those who carry on their bulletin masthead “Main Street church of Christ” (though I will question their sense of proper capitalization). What I will do is contend earnestly for the undenominational nature of the church of Christ as set forth in the New Testament and for clear thinking, clear speaking, and clear writing about that precious, blood-bought body of redeemed souls! That is “what difference it makes”!

And one final thought: Before responding critically to what I have written in this essay, be sure you have read it carefully and digested it thoroughly so that you grasp the point(s) I have made. Read carefully and “chew on” what I have said. Hasty readers and hasty responders, in a rush to disagree, often miss the point.

07/02/2021

Lost in the ‘woulds’
Gerald Cowan’s Personal Periodicals – 649

LOST IN THE WOULDS

Ask church members to do something. It may be some service, or some continuing duty and responsibility to be assigned or, perhaps, a one-time need to be fulfilled. It may even be something the Lord expects, requires and commands. Of course, you must not embarrass one by insisting that he or she explain and justify a refusal to do what is being requested – or by suggesting that, In your judgment, he or she is well qualified and able to it. The reply will often be: “I would like to do it, and I would if I could, but I can’t.” That I can’t is supposed to be taken at face value, without further question from you. But if pressed, or if feeling they must offer a reasonable explanation, they will offer an excuse or excuses that justify them in saying no to the request. Let’s focus on matters required and requested by the Lord himself. Here are a few representative examples:

Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). “I would attend the services, but I can’t,” because .. “It isn’t a convenient time for me … I don’t have decent clothing … I don’t have transportation and walking is not an option … the weather looks threatening … I may have visitors … I think I’m going to be sick and indisposed.” In reality it may be because, “I don’t like the way things are done … I don’t like the preacher … I don’t feel welcome because I’m different from the others.” Not many will admit: “I don’t attend because I just don’t want to.” But even that excuse wouldn’t justify one’s absence and lack of involvement.

By this time you ought to be teaching others (Hebrews 5:12). “I would teach a class, I would try to teach others about Christ and the church, but I can’t, because I’m not qualified – I don’t know enough and others already know more than I do. I’m afraid I will make mistakes or be asked questions I can’t answer to their satisfaction.” There’s some validity in that, but what are you doing to become qualified? Are you willing to seek and accept help – from others or from God, so that you can answer the call when needed?

Give as you have prospered and purposed: God loves a cheerful giver (1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 9:7). “I would give to the Lord and his church, and to the needs of others, but I can’t because I have other obligations, and besides that, I don’t approve some things the church is doing and I don’t think the church needs the money.”

Visit and minister to the needs of widows and orphans, the sick, hungry, persecuted and prisoners, etc (James 1:27, Matthew 25:36). “I would visit and help others but I can’t because I’m not very good at doing that kind of thing – it really depresses me. I’ve got troubles of my own without taking on the troubles of others. I think sometimes people deserve to be left alone and made to help themselves.” So, is that the way you want others to treat you, just leave you alone and not help you? (Matthew 7:12).
Go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15, 2 Timothy 4:1). “I would be a preacher/evangelist/missionary but I can’t because I don’t think God has called me for that. You don’t have to go to far away places to preach and teach. There are other Christian works that are more rewarding and less difficult or costly.” So, what are you doing instead of missions and evangelism? Are you actually doing these things at home?

Well, you get the idea, don’t you? The work of the church and the works of Christians often get “lost in the woulds” of members and professed Christians. In some cases the excuse formula should be changed from “I would go, do, give but I can’t” to “I could if I would, but I don’t and won’t.” Of course we must avoid accusing anyone of misrepresenting his or her abilities and opportunities. But it is certainly easy to under-estimate one’s abilities, easy not to recognize one’s opportunities, and misjudge one’s response to needs, requests, (and even commands of God). But we are surely safe in suggesting one should never assume he cannot do a certain thing until he has at least tried to do it. You may never know what you can do until you try honestly and sincerely to do it – perhaps trying several times before being convinced you really cannot do it. You may find out: where’s there’s a will and earnest trying, there’s way to succeed, for you too.

Here’s a follow-on lesson. God does not require what one cannot do – He judges according to what one has, not what one doesn’t have and can’t get (2 Corinthians 8:12). He doesn’t expect or require a “one-talent” person to produce what a multi-talent (2, 5, or more) can do and does do (read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30). The talent in the parable is a sum or quantity of money – it is not an ability. Notice in verse 15, the master or property owner distributes his money among his servants and implies opportunities to use it in ways that will benefit him, not them, the amount based upon his assessment of the abilities they already possess. The two-talent and five-talent men were not commended and rewarded based upon the amount gained by their efforts – a doubling of what they had to work with, but rather based upon their faithfulness in doing what they could with what had been entrusted to them. The one-talent man was not condemned because he did not produce at the same level as the others – doubling the investment – nor was he commended because he did not lose any of what was entrusted to him. He was condemned and rejected because he made no effort to use and improve upon his talent; he did nothing to benefit either himself or the one who had invested in him. Fear of failure and consequent censure by a demanding investor crippled him: he ended by losing everything, including the initial talent he had received.. Do you see the application here? Whether or not given directly by God, we have abilities, resources, and opportunities. We can use what we have for Him, or we can refuse and fail. But we will not be judged on what we could have done had we tried, but on what we did with what we had.

O LORD DIVINE IN HEAVEN

We give our lives to You
In rust that You will make our lives complete.
Grant us courage, Father, as we face adversity.
We are so often weak.
Give us something of You all-sufficient strength.
We lose our hope too easily.
Help us then to persevere.
Teach us patience, for we find it difficult to wait.
Set our feet in safety on the our Lord, the Rock;
May we never waver or be moved from Him.
Let meekness dissipate our self-important airs.
In true submission may we find true liberty.
Teach us charity and kind forbearance,
For we are too often uncooperative and selfish.
Undo pride and our self-seeking will
that we might be more tolerant of others.
Enable us to bear life’s burdens for ourselves and others.
But share the burden with us, Lord,
and never let the weight of trial overcome us.
May we find knowledge in Your word
for we would not be ignorant of You.
Grant us wisdom so that knowledge is not used improperly.
Comfort us in sadness.
Ease the ache in hearts now filled with sorrow.
Grant that might not be anxious slaves to stress,
But set the peace of Christ within our hearts.
And most of all — above all else,
Sustain our souls in spiritual communion with Yourself,
for we can never live by bread and water alone,
but only with the food of Your word and the water of life
for our spirits as provided for us in Christ.
Be our Rock and Refuge, our Help and Hope, our Strength and Stay. Keep us on the pathway to life and heaven
marked out clearly for us in Your Son, our Lord Jesus.

– Gerald Cowan

Address

5224 Wake Forest Highway
Durham, NC
27703

Opening Hours

10am - 11am

Telephone

+19199572500

Website

http://durhamcoc.com/

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