| Matthew 5:29 – “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” |
Sometimes we talk about responsibilities we have.
Bills to pay, houses to be maintained.
And responsibility is a fine idea, it may be broader than we think.
Atri was a small Italian town that sat on the side of a mountain.
One day the king of Atri purchased a large bell and hung it in the town square.
The bell had a long rope, long enough for even the smallest child to reach.
People came to admire it and they longed to hear it and expected the king to ring it when he arrived.
But when he came, he refused to ring the bell. “This is the bell of justice. Anyone can ring the bell, but it must not be rung unless he or she has been wronged. When it is rung, the judges will come and hear the case and render judgment.”
Over the years, the bell rang many times. Wrongs were righted and wrong doers punished.
But the hemp grew frayed, and strands broke off. Soon only the tallest citizen could reach it.
The judges said, “we must do something. The rope must be replaced.” But no rope was to be found in the town so they had to send over the hillside to get one, and it would take some time.
What to do? What if a child needed to ring the bell? Something had to be done.
A local farmer had a solution. He brought a long grapevine with its leaves and tendrils still attached. He connected the vine to the bell, and it hung to the ground. It was a fine solution.
Up in the hills, lived an old knight. He had fought many valiant battles. His closest friend was his mighty horse who had carried him in his adventures.
But he grew tired of the battles and the pursuit of gold consumed him. He soon sold all that he had, except for his horse to get more gold. He built a small hut in the hills where he sat all day counting his gold. His horse was left to shiver in the cold.
As he sat there, he thought of ways to get even more gold. “That old horse of mine costs me more each month. I will turn him out and he can find food and water where he can. Why do I need him anyway?”
So, the horse had to forage in the rocky hillside for a few blades of grass and a stray thistle.
One day, hungry and looking for food and water, he went to the town. The gates were open, but the streets were vacant. The noon heat had driven the people inside of their houses.
The horse ambled through the streets unseen. Soon, he spotted the grapevine with the leaves still green and appetizing. He went to check but he had to pull to get the leaf off the vine and when he did, the bell started to peal. It seemed to say, “someone has done me wrong, someone has done me wrong, Oh come and judge my case, oh come and judge my case, for I’ve been wronged”
The judges ran to the bell and saw the horse nibbling on the vine.
They said, “it is that miser’s steed and he has come to call for justice for he has been treated shamefully.”
Then, people began to come forward to speak of how they had seen the horse wandering the hills unfed while the master was at home counting his gold.
The judges fetched the miser where they pronounced their verdict. “The horse has served you well, but you have not cared for him. We direct that half of your gold be spent to build a barn and provide a large pasture for the horse in his old age.
The miser hung his head in sorrow at the loss of his gold, but the people cheered. And the horse was led to his new stall to live out his life.
Sometimes, we need to realize that what God has given us is more than the gifts but the responsibilities of those gifts.
In Matthew 25, Jesus told the parable of the three servants, all who were given various sums of money. Two used theirs for the good and returned more.
But the last…he did not employ the gift of the master. And, as in the story, judgment is rendered: “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 25:29)
The question for us is always how are we being responsible with the gifts the Master has given us?
Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
