We gathered at Los Pinos Church of Christ. (Iglesia de Cristo) where Tim Hines delivered the message in English and Spanish simultaneously. Honduran and American missionaries were blessed by God’s word living and breathing in a place where there was no place to even meet before the building came to be by a Torch Team 8 years ago. One of the things I enjoy most about Tim bringing a lesson is his ability to bring it to us in a way that we can all relate to. He also has a habit of providing ways of applying what we learned to our personal lives. The lesson was on the parable of the talents. At the end of the lesson he asked for volunteers to come up front. They had no explanation of what they were volunteering for, or why. Four Honduran men and two Honduran women made their way to the front. Tim then gave them 500 limpera…. Believe me, it was a hoot to see the looks on the faces of the other underpriveledged Hondurans. They were thinking “the next time a gringo asks me to volunteer for something, I am going to BE THERE!”
Three rules were explained about the money. #1- It is God’s money #2 It can not be used on yourself or anyone in the congregation or family. #3 They are to report back to the church in 30 days as to the way they used the money to further God’s Kingdom. To use the “talents” as described in Matthew 25 in a way that would please the Master when he returned. To multiply them according to our talents.
One example was given of a girl in a northern state in America. Everyone at her congregation was given a hundred dollars to further the kingdom. With faith, the girl laid her 100 dollars down at a coat factory and asked how many coats she could get with the money, in a place where it is very cold and coats were needed for the poor. The next scene shows a high school gym full of coats.
The talents represent any resource we are given. Time, money, our gifts.
We are responsible to use well what God has given us. The Torch team was given the same opportunity as we boarded the bus. It will be great to see what God will do with us when we are willing to sacrifice and focus on what he has given us. The issue is not how much we have, but how well we use what we have.
