"Occupy Till I Come": Serving Until Jesus Comes

Luke 19:13  •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 7
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“Occupy Till I Come” (Luke 19:1313And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. (Luke 19:13))
We know that the world still rejects the Saviour—the citizens hated Him and said, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” We are in a world that does not want the authority of Christ over it. But something has been committed to us, brethren—every one of us has some service that the Lord has given to us individually. Here (Luke 19:13-2713And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. 20And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 21For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. 22And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 24And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 26For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. 27But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. (Luke 19:13‑27)) one person was very diligent with the pound that was given to him; his pound gained ten pounds. Another, perhaps less diligent, gained just five pounds, but the Lord valued them both.
However, another servant wrapped his pound in a napkin rather than using what had been entrusted to him. Every one of us has some little service to perform for the Lord. I do not believe that any could say that he or she does not have something they can especially do for Him.
In the Old Testament, each one of the Levites was given a service and a burden which was outlined to them by Aaron and his sons. They were appointed their particular service, and then they had the privilege of carrying some special burden. Some might have carried the ark, while others, the boards or pins. Their service was not all the same by any means, but each one had some service.
You, as a believer, have something that the Lord has given you to do. There is no one who can do that service as well as you. If the Lord chose you to do some little service for Him, it was because you had been fitted for that very thing. So we read that He gave to each according to his several ability (see Matt. 25:1515And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. (Matthew 25:15)). He knew you could do that, if you were willing to do it. It is a very great privilege. He does not want everyone to be out in a foreign field. He wants, for instance, mothers to be in the home, while others, like Epaphras, may be laboring fervently in prayer perhaps many are doing things that are unnoticed by others. But, brethren, occupy till He comes! Wouldn’t you like to be doing the service He has given when He comes?
If you love someone who has asked you to do something for them and they come unexpectedly and find you doing just what they asked you to do, don’t you feel gratified? “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing” (Matt. 24:4646Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. (Matthew 24:46)).
How happy our meetings would be if each one of us fulfilled the intended place that God has for us—not all the same place, but each the intended place that He has given. “He... gave... to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.” May the Lord, then, encourage us to occupy until He comes.
G. H. Hayhoe (adapted from an address)