The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young Part 18

"That's so," said the young man.

"Now, I don't undertake any such thing," said his friend. "I am sure I should fail, if I did. Saul, the first king of Israel, wanted to be his own master, and failed. So did Herod. So did Judas. No man can be his own master. 'One is your Master, even Christ,' says the apostle.

I work under his direction. He is my regulator, and when he is Master all goes right. Think of these words,--'_He is your Master even Christ_.' If we put ourselves under his leaders.h.i.+p we shall surely win at last."

And as we cannot be our own master, if we refuse to take Christ as our Ruler, there is nothing left for us but to have Satan as our master. These are the only two masters we can have. We must make our choice between them. If Jesus is not our Master, Satan must be. If Jesus is our Master here, he will share his glory with us hereafter.

If we serve Satan here, we must share his punishment hereafter. This is one of the solemn lessons that Jesus taught on Olivet. He is speaking of the day of judgment. He represents himself as on the judgment-seat. Two great companies are before him. On his right hand are those who took him for their Master. To them he says--"Come, ye blessed children of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the world," St. Matt, xxv: 34.

On his left are those who took Satan for their master. The awful words he speaks to them are:--"Depart from, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." St. Matt.

xxv: 41.

This is our first lesson from Olivet--the lesson about the Master.

_The second lesson from Olivet is the lesson about_--THE SERVANTS.

We are told that before this n.o.bleman went away to the far country, he called to him "his own servants." The n.o.bleman here spoken of means Jesus, our blessed Master. And now the question is--who are meant by "his own servants?" He has three kinds of servants. The first kind is made up of those who serve him _ignorantly_. This takes in all those things that have no knowledge or understanding. There, for instance are the sun,--the moon,--the stars,--the mountains,--the hills,--the plains,--the valleys,--the rivers,--the seas,--the wind that blows,--the rains that descend,--and the dews that distil; these all serve G.o.d, without knowing it. He made them to serve him, and they do it; but they do it ignorantly. "His kingdom _ruleth over all_," and it makes all these things his servants. They do exactly what they were made for, but they do it ignorantly.

And there is another cla.s.s of our Lord's creatures who serve him _unwillingly_. This is a very large cla.s.s. It takes in all the wicked men, and the wicked spirits who are to be found anywhere. They do not wish to serve G.o.d, and yet, in spite of themselves, they are obliged to do it. We see this ill.u.s.trated, when we think of the way in which the crucifixion of our blessed Saviour was brought about. Satan stirred up the Jews to take Jesus and put him to death. G.o.d allowed them to do it. They did it of their own choice--as freely, and as voluntarily, as they ever did anything in their lives. They did it because they hated him, and wished to get him out of their way. So they nailed him to the cross in their malice and their rage. This was the very thing G.o.d had determined should be done, that he might save and bless the world. He allowed Satan, and the Jews, to do just what their wicked hearts prompted them to do; and then he overruled it for good. And, in this way, as David says, he "makes the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder of it he restrains." And thus we see how evil men, and evil spirits, are G.o.d's servants _unwillingly_.

But then, there is another cla.s.s of persons who serve G.o.d _willingly_. This takes in all those who know and love him. He speaks of them, in this parable as "_his own_ servants." When they find out what he has done for them, the thought of it fills their hearts with love; and then they desire to serve him, and do all he tells them to do, in order to show their love to him. And this is what Jesus means when he says--"Take my yoke upon you; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light," When we really love a person, anything that we can do for that person is easy and pleasant to us. And so it is the great love for Jesus, that his people have, which makes his yoke easy, and his burden light to them.

"How to Become a Willing Servant to Jesus." A little boy came to his grandmother one day, and asked her how he could become a Christian.

She answered very simply, "Ask Jesus to give you a new heart, _and believe he does it when you ask him_."

"Is that all?" said the little fellow joyfully; "oh! that is easy enough." So he went to his room, and kneeling beside his bed, asked Jesus to give him a new heart. He believed that the dear Saviour, who loves little children, did hear and answer his prayer. And he left his room with a happy heart, for he felt sure that he was now one of Christ's own loving children, and willing servants. And this is the way in which we must take the yoke of Jesus upon us, and become his willing servants. And then in everything that we do we can be serving him. As St. Paul says--"whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, we can do all to the glory of G.o.d."

A good man once said "that if G.o.d should send two angels down from heaven, and should tell one of them to sit on a throne and rule a kingdom, and the other to sweep the streets of a city, the latter would feel that he was serving G.o.d as acceptably in handling his broom as his brother angel was in holding his sceptre. And this is true. We see the same ill.u.s.trated in the fable of:

"The Stream and the Mill." "I notice," said the stream to the mill, "that you grind beans as well and as cheerfully as you do the finest wheat." "Certainly," said the mill; "what am I here for but to grind?

and so long as I work, what does it signify to me what the work is?

My business is to serve my master, and I am not a whit more useful when I turn out the finest flour than when I turn out the coa.r.s.est meal. My honor is, not in doing fine work, but in doing any thing that is given me to do in the best way that I can." That is true. And this is just the way in which Jesus wishes us to serve him when he says to "_his own_ servants," "Occupy till I come." This means serve me, in everything, as you would do if you saw me standing by your side.

"How to Serve G.o.d." Willie's mother let him go with his little sister into the street to play. She told them not to go off the street on which their house stood. Willie was a little fellow, and lisped very much in talking; but he was brave, and he was obedient. Presently his sister asked him to go into another street; but he refused. "Mamma thaid no," was Willie's answer. "The thaid we muthn't do off thith threet," said Willie in his lisping way. "Only just a little way round the corner," said his teasing sister. "Mamma'll never know it."

"But I thall know it my own thelf; and I don't want to know any thuch a mean thing; and I won't!" And Willie straightened himself, and stood up like a man. That was brave and beautiful in Willie. And that is the way in which we should try to serve our heavenly Master.

"How a Boy May Serve G.o.d." A gentleman met a little boy wheeling his baby brother in a child's carriage. "My little man," said the gentleman, "what are you doing to serve G.o.d?" The little fellow stopped a moment, and then, looking up into the gentleman's face, he said:--"Why, you see, Sir, I'm trying to make baby happy, so that he won't worry mamma who is sick." That was a n.o.ble answer. In trying to amuse his baby brother, and to relieve his poor sick mother, that little boy was serving G.o.d as truly and as acceptably as the angel Gabriel does when he wings his way, on a mission of mercy, to some far off world.

And this is the lesson about the servants that comes to us from Olivet.

_The lesson about_--THE TALENTS--_is the third lesson that comes to us from Olivet_.

This parable tells us that before the Master went away, he "called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. Unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to every man according to his several ability." verses 14, 15, In St. Luke's account of the parable, what the master gave to his servants is spoken of as _pounds_, and each servant is said to have received one pound. These talents or pounds both mean the same thing. They denote something with which we can do good, and make ourselves useful. And it is plain, from both these parables, that the Master gave at least _one_ talent, or one pound, to each of his servants. None of them were left without some portion of their Master's goods. And the lesson from Olivet which comes to us here is that every one of us has a talent, or a pound, that our Master Jesus, has given us, and which he expects us to use for him. And the most important thing for us is to find out what our talents are, and how we can best use them, so as to be ready to give a good account of them when our Master comes to reckon with us.

A TALENT FOR EACH.

"G.o.d entrusts to all Talents few or many; None so young and small That they have not any.

"Little drops of rain Bring the springing flowers; And I may attain Much by little powers.

"Every little mite, Every little measure, Helps to spread the light, Helps to swell the treasure.

"G.o.d will surely ask, Ere I enter heaven, Have I done the task Which to me was given?"

"One Talent Improved." One day, amidst the crowded streets of London, a poor little newsboy had both his legs broken by a dray pa.s.sing over them. He was laid away, in one of the beds of a hospital, to die. On the next cot to him was another little fellow, of the same cla.s.s, who had been picked up, sick with the fever which comes from hunger and want. The latter boy crept close up to his poor suffering companion and said:

"Bobby, did you ever hear about Jesus?"

"No, I never heard of him."

"Bobby, I went to the mission-school once; and they told us that Jesus would take us up to heaven when we die, if we axed him; and we'd never have any more hunger or pain."

"But I couldn't ax such a great gentleman as he is to do anything for me. He wouldn't stop to speak to a poor boy like me."

"But h.e.l.l do all that for you Bobby, if you ax him."

"But how can I ax him, if I don't know where he lives? and how could I get: there when both my legs is broke?"

"Bobby, they told us, at the mission-school, as how Jesus pa.s.ses by.

The teacher said he goes around. How do you know but what he might come round to this hospital this very night? You'd know him if you was to see him."

"But I can't keep my eyes open. My legs feels awful bad. Doctor says I'll die."

"Bobby, hold up yer hand, and he'll know what you want, when he pa.s.ses by." They got the hand up; but it dropped. They tried it again, and it slowly fell back. Three times they got up the little hand, only to let it fall. Bursting into tears he said, "I give it up."

"Bobby," said his tender-hearted companion, "lend me yer hand. Put your elbow on my piller: I can do without it." So the hand was propped up. And when they came in the morning, the boy lay dead; but his hand was still held up for Jesus. And don't you think that he heard and answered the silent but eloquent appeal which it made to him for his pardon and grace, and salvation, to that poor dying boy?

I do, I do.

Bobby's friend had been once to the mission-school. He had but a single talent; but, he made good use of it when he employed it to lead that wounded, suffering, dying boy to Jesus.

"Good Friends." "I wish I had some good friends, to help me on in life!" cried lazy Dennis, with a yawn.

"Good friends," said his master, "why you've got ten; how many do you want?"

"I'm sure I've not half so many; and those I have are too poor to help me."

"Count your fingers, my boy," said the master.

Dennis looked down on his big, strong hands. "Count thumbs and all,"

added the master.

"I have; there are ten," said the lad.

"Then never say you have not ten good friends, able to help you on in life. Try what those true friends can do, before you go grumbling and fretting because you have none to help you."

Now, suppose that we put the word talents, for the word friends, in this little story. Then, we may each of us hold our two hands before us, and say "here are ten talents, which G.o.d has given me to use for him. Let me try and do all the good I can with these ten talents."

THE BEST THAT I CAN.

"'I cannot do much,' said a little star, 'To make the dark world bright; My silvery beams can not struggle far Through the folding gloom of night; But I'm only a part of G.o.d's great plan, And I'll cheerfully do the best I can.'