The name "Ten Minas" comes from a parable Jesus told near the end of his ministry on earth. At the time of Jesus, the Jews mistakenly believed that the promised Messiah would be a political figure who would deliver them from Roman rule and usher in a period of peace from their enemies. In a sense, he would be a king like any other earthly king. Jesus knew that he was going to be killed on the cross, so those expecting a political uprising were going to be sorely disappointed. As he was getting closer to Jerusalem, the expectations of the Jews grew to a much more fevered pitch. They were anxious, expecting Jesus to announce at any moment that he was taking over, perhaps calling for an armed rebellion against Rome. Against that backdrop, Jesus told the following parable:
11While they were listening to this, [Jesus] went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' 14"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ 15“He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16"The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ 17"‘Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ 18“Then the second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ 19"His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ 20“Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have laid it away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’ 22"His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ 24“Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ 25"‘Sir,' they replied, 'he already has ten!’ 26"He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’” Luke 19:11-27
Jesus told a very similar parable in Matthew 25:14-30. So what does all this mean? Jesus summarized the main point of the parable in verse 26. Christ does not just want us to "claim" to have faith in him while we sit idly by doing nothing. It is really easy to say you are a Christian on Sunday mornings when you are at church and surrounded by other believers. But Jesus wants us to do more than that. He wants us to demonstrate our faith in our daily lives. Being a Christian is not "safe", and we should not be trying to "play it safe."
God has given each of us spiritual gifts. We all have talents, whether we acknowledge that they came from God or not. These are the minas in the parable. The key question Jesus asks of us through this parable is, "What are you doing with the gifts God has given you?" We are supposed to be using them for God's glory. You will find that when you start living every moment of your life as if you are working for God, your entire life suddenly has meaning. After all, you will never have to ponder why you are doing something. You are doing it for God.
Take what God has given you and use it for Him. This is what Ten Minas is trying to do and what we encourage others to do as well. Some of us are gifted teachers, some are preachers. Some of us are great at building personal relationships and demonstrating God's love. Wherever your "mina" lies, put it to good use until the day when Christ returns.
If you are what many people call a "Sunday Morning Christian", meaning you are a Christian when you go to your worship service, but never even think of Jesus (let alone talk about Him) during the week, ask yourself if you really have true faith. After all, Jesus wants you to be working for Him. If you truly had faith in Him, wouldn't you be living your life as He asked? The apostle John said it very well in 1 John 2:3-6:
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
Do you "walk as Jesus did"? If not, I hope we can be an inspiration to you. Think about how you can best serve Christ. If you want ideas, please e-mail us at ContactUs@TenMinasMinistries.org. We would be happy to try to research service opportunities in your area. If you live anywhere in the vicinity of Havre de Grace, Maryland and want to help Ten Minas in any of our service or ministry projects we always welcome your assistance. God bless.
(c) 2010 Ten Minas Ministries, Inc., P.O. Box 827, Havre de Grace, MD 21078; (410) 935-0701
