🏠 Mifano ya Biblia — Sehemu ya 14: Misingi na Uaminifu🏠 Parables of the Bible — Unit 14: Foundations and Faithfulness

UtanguliziOrientation

Injili ya Mathayo ina sehemu kuu tano za mafundisho ya Yesu, na ya kwanza na ya mwisho kati ya hizo zinamalizika kwa mifano inayotazama mbele kwenye siku ya kujaribiwa. Mahubiri ya Mlimani (Mathayo 5–7) yanamalizika kwa wajenzi wawili ambao nyumba zao zinakabili dhoruba kubwa. Hotuba ya Mlima wa Mizeituni (Mathayo 24–25), mafundisho marefu ya mwisho ya Yesu kabla ya msalaba, inamalizika kwa mfululizo wa mifano kuhusu watumwa ambao lazima watoe hesabu bwana wao atakaporudi, ukiwemo mfano wa talanta. Mifano miwili ya sehemu hii inakwenda pamoja. Wa kwanza unauliza tunajenga juu ya nini; wa pili unauliza tunafanya nini na kile tulichopewa. Yote miwili inatazama kuelekea siku ambayo kila maisha yatajaribiwa.Matthew's Gospel contains five great blocks of Jesus' teaching, and the first and last of them end with parables that look ahead to a day of testing. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) closes with two builders whose houses face a great storm. The Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24–25), Jesus' last extended teaching before the cross, closes with a series of parables about servants who must give account when their master returns, including the parable of the talents. The two parables in this unit belong together. The first asks what we are building on; the second asks what we are doing with what we have been given. Both look toward the day when every life will be tested.

Sehemu hii inamaliza masomo ya mfano mmoja mmoja. Sehemu ya mwisho itafundisha jinsi ya kuhubiri mifano. Inafaa kwamba mifano miwili ya mwisho tunayoisoma inahusu kusikia na kutenda, kupokea na kuwekeza, kwa maana hilo ndilo hasa Yesu analomwomba kila mwanafunzi wa mifano yake.This unit brings the study of individual parables to its end. The final unit will teach how to preach the parables. It is fitting that the last two parables we study are about hearing and doing, receiving and investing, for that is exactly what Jesus asks of every student of His parables.

I. Wajenzi Wenye Busara na Wapumbavu (Mathayo 7:24–29)I. The Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24–29)

"Basi kila asikiaye hayo maneno yangu, na kuyafanya, atafananishwa na mtu mwenye busara, aliyejenga nyumba yake juu ya mwamba" (7:24). Neno "basi" linakusanya Mahubiri yote ya Mlimani: Heri, chumvi na nuru, haki iliyo ya ndani zaidi, upendo kwa adui, maombi na sadaka za siri, kuwa huru na wasiwasi, na mlango mwembamba. Yesu anayamaliza mahubiri yake makuu kuliko yote si kwa fundisho jingine bali kwa picha inayodai uamuzi."Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock" (7:24). The word "therefore" gathers up the entire Sermon on the Mount: the Beatitudes, salt and light, the deeper righteousness, love for enemies, secret prayer and giving, freedom from worry, and the narrow gate. Jesus ends His greatest sermon not with another teaching but with a picture that demands a decision.

Katika nchi ya Israeli kuna mikondo ya mito iliyokauka inayoitwa wadi. Wakati wa kiangazi inaonekana kama mahali pazuri, palipo sawa, penye mchanga, panapofaa kabisa kujenga nyumba. Lakini mvua za masika zinapofika milimani, wadi inaweza kugeuka kuwa mafuriko makali kwa dakika chache, ikifagilia mbali kila kitu kilicho njiani mwake. Mjenzi mwenye busara alifanya kazi ngumu; Luka anasema "alichimba chini sana, akaweka msingi juu ya mwamba" (Luka 6:48). Mjenzi mpumbavu alichagua njia rahisi. Kwa muda, nyumba zote mbili zilionekana sawa. Tofauti ilionekana tu wakati "mvua ikanyesha, mafuriko yakaja, pepo zikavuma, zikaipiga nyumba ile" (7:25). Nyumba moja ilisimama. Nyingine ilianguka, "nayo anguko lake likawa kubwa" (7:27).In the land of Israel there are dry streambeds called wadis. In the summer they look like pleasant, level, sandy places, perfect for a house. But when the winter rains come to the hills, a wadi can become a raging torrent in minutes, sweeping away everything in its path. The wise builder did the hard work; Luke says he "dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock" (Luke 6:48). The foolish builder took the easy way. For a season, both houses looked the same. The difference only appeared when "the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house" (7:25). One house stood. The other fell, "and great was its fall" (7:27).

Karibu na mahali tulipoishi huko Mississippi kulikuwa na mtaa wa makazi ulioitwa Bogue Chitto Heights, uliojengwa karibu na mto. Mara nyingi palikuwa mahali pazuri pa kuishi, lakini mara kwa mara maji yalipanda, na mwaka 1990 mafuriko yalifika majumbani. Usingejenga hapo juu ya mchanga. Hata hivyo watu wengi hujenga maisha yao ya kiroho kwa namna hiyo hasa.Near where we lived in Mississippi there was a subdivision called Bogue Chitto Heights, built near the river. Most of the time it was a lovely place to live, but every so often the water rose, and in 1990 a flood reached the homes. You would not build there on sand. Yet many people build their spiritual lives exactly that way.

Msingi wa mchanga ni kusikia bila kutenda. Kusikia ni lazima, kwa kuwa hakuna mtu anayeweza kuokolewa bila kwanza kusikia ujumbe wa Yesu. Lakini kusikia peke yake ni mchanga. "Iweni watendaji wa neno, wala msiwe wasikiaji tu, hali mkijidanganya nafsi zenu" (Yakobo 1:22). Wengi hujenga juu ya michanga mingine pia. Wengine hujenga juu ya ubinafsi, wakifanya tu kile wanachopenda, kama mtoto anayesema, "Sitaki." Wengine hujenga juu ya tamaa ya makuu, wakiwasukuma wengine kando ili wafanikiwe. Wengine hujenga juu ya maoni ya watu wengine, hata sauti ya majirani zao inakuwa kubwa kuliko sauti ya Mungu. Wengi hujenga juu ya kazi au mali; wanaume wengi hufikia uzeeni wakitamani wangetumia muda mchache zaidi kutafuta riziki na muda mwingi zaidi pamoja na watoto wao. "Msiipende dunia, wala mambo yaliyomo katika dunia" (1 Yohana 2:15). Yote haya yanaweza kuonekana mazuri wakati wa kiangazi.The foundation of sand is hearing without doing. Hearing is necessary, since no one can be saved without first hearing the message of Jesus. But hearing alone is sand. "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22). Many build on other sands as well. Some build on selfishness, doing only what they like, like a child who says, "I don't want to." Some build on ambition, pushing others aside to succeed. Some build on the opinions of others, so that the voice of their neighbors is louder than the voice of God. Many build on work or things; many men reach retirement wishing they had spent less time earning a living and more time with their children. "Do not love the world or the things in the world" (1 John 2:15). All of these may look fine in the dry season.

Msingi wa mwamba ni kusikia na kutenda, ambayo ni njia nyingine ya kusema utii. Imani ni zaidi ya kukubaliana na wazo; inahusisha kujitoa kutii. Baharia mmoja wa Jeshi la Wanamaji la Uingereza aliwahi kueleza walivyokuwa wakivuta chombo kidogo katika bahari iliyochafuka. Ghafla nahodha alipaza sauti, "Laleni chini!" Kila mtu alijitupa sakafuni papo hapo, na wakati huo huo kamba ya chuma ya kuvutia ikakatika na kupiga kwa nguvu juu ya meli mahali walipokuwa wamesimama. Maisha yao yalitegemea kutii bila kusita. Walimu wengine hutoa ushauri; Yesu anadai utii wa aina hiyo kwa moyo wote. Kujenga juu ya mwamba ni kazi ngumu. Si rahisi kuwaombea adui, kulipa mema kwa mabaya, au kumtumaini Mungu badala ya kuwa na wasiwasi. Ndiyo maana dhoruba ina umuhimu.The foundation of rock is hearing and doing, which is another way of saying obedience. Faith is more than agreeing with an idea; it involves a commitment to obey. A sailor in the British Royal Navy once described towing a small vessel through a rough sea. Suddenly the captain shouted, "Down!" Every man dropped to the deck instantly, and at that moment the steel towline snapped and whipped across the ship where they had been standing. Their lives depended on obeying without hesitation. Other teachers give advice; Jesus calls for that kind of wholehearted obedience. Building on the rock is hard work. It is not easy to pray for enemies, to return good for evil, or to trust God instead of worrying. That is why the storm matters.

Dhoruba huja katika kila maisha. Kuna dhoruba za majaribu (Yakobo 1:2), dhoruba za kupoteza kazi, fedha, familia, na marafiki, na hatimaye dhoruba ya kifo na hukumu: "watu wanavyowekewa kufa mara moja, na baada ya kufa hukumu" (Waebrania 9:27). Kabla tu ya mfano huu, Yesu alionya kwamba wengi watasema, "Bwana, Bwana, hatukufanya unabii kwa jina lako?" naye atajibu, "Sikuwajua ninyi kamwe" (7:22–23). Shughuli za kidini si msingi. Msingi pekee wa kweli ni Kristo mwenyewe: "Maana msingi mwingine hakuna awezaye kuuweka, isipokuwa ule uliokwisha kuwekwa, yaani, Yesu Kristo" (1 Wakorintho 3:11). Mahubiri yalipokwisha, makutano "walishangaa mno kwa mafundisho yake; kwa maana alikuwa akiwafundisha kama mtu mwenye amri" (7:28–29). Yule aliyekuja kutoka mbinguni ndiye peke yake anayeweza kutuambia jinsi ya kufika huko.The storm comes to every life. There are storms of trials (James 1:2), storms of loss of jobs, money, family, and friends, and finally the storm of death and judgment: "it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). Just before this parable, Jesus warned that many will say, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name?" and He will answer, "I never knew you" (7:22–23). Religious activity is not a foundation. The only true foundation is Christ Himself: "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11). When the Sermon ended, the people "were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority" (7:28–29). The One who came from heaven is the only one who can tell us how to get there.

II. Mfano wa Talanta (Mathayo 25:14–30)II. The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30)

"Kwa maana ufalme wa mbinguni ni kama mtu atakaye kusafiri kwenda nchi ya mbali, aliwaita watumwa wake, akaweka kwao mali zake" (25:14). Mfano huu umesimama katika Hotuba ya Mlima wa Mizeituni kati ya wanawali kumi, ambao lazima wawe tayari kwa bwana arusi anayekawia, na kondoo na mbuzi, ambapo mataifa yanahukumiwa kwa jinsi walivyowatendea "mmojawapo wa hao ndugu zangu walio wadogo." Yote mitatu inafundisha jinsi ya kuishi wakati Bwana hayupo."For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them" (25:14). The parable stands in the Olivet Discourse between the ten virgins, who must be ready for a delayed bridegroom, and the sheep and the goats, where the nations are judged by how they treated "the least of these." All three teach how to live while the Master is away.

Bwana alimpa mtumwa mmoja talanta tano, mwingine mbili, na mwingine moja, "kila mtu kwa kadiri ya uwezo wake" (25:15). Talanta ilikuwa kiasi kikubwa mno cha fedha, takriban mshahara wa kibarua wa miaka kumi na tano hadi ishirini. Hata mtumwa aliyepokea talanta moja alikabidhiwa utajiri mkubwa. Neno la Kiingereza "talent," lenye maana ya kipaji cha asili, linatokana na mfano huu huu, lakini katika hadithi talanta ni fedha, nayo inawakilisha kila kitu ambacho Mungu huwakabidhi watumishi wake: muda, vipaji, nafasi, mali, na zaidi ya yote ujumbe wa ufalme.The master gave one servant five talents, another two, and another one, "to each according to his own ability" (25:15). A talent was an enormous sum, roughly fifteen to twenty years of a laborer's wages. Even the servant who received one talent was entrusted with a fortune. Our English word "talent," meaning a natural ability, comes from this very parable, but in the story a talent is money, and it stands for everything God entrusts to His servants: time, abilities, opportunities, possessions, and above all the message of the kingdom.

Angalia kwamba uwakili unaanza kwa kupokea. Kabla hatujaweza kumpa Mungu chochote, lazima kwanza tupokee kutoka kwake. Kila kitu walichokuwa nacho watumwa kilitoka kwa bwana wao. Hawakuwa wamiliki bali mawakili, sawasawa kama wakulima wapangaji wa Sehemu ya 13. "Basi, hapa inatakiwa katika mawakili, mtu aonekane kuwa mwaminifu" (1 Wakorintho 4:2).Notice that stewardship begins with receiving. Before we can give anything to God, we must first receive from Him. Everything the servants had came from their master. They were not owners but stewards, exactly like the tenants of Unit 13. "Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2).

Watumwa wawili wa kwanza walikwenda mara moja wakafanya biashara, na kila mmoja akapata faida mara mbili ya alichopokea. Wa tatu "alikwenda akachimba chini, akaificha fedha ya bwana wake" (25:18). Kuzika fedha kulihesabiwa kuwa njia salama kuliko zote ya kuilinda katika utamaduni ule, na sheria ya Kiyahudi ya wakati ule ilimhesabu mtu aliyezika fedha aliyokabidhiwa kuwa ameitunza ipasavyo. Kwa mtazamo wa ulimwengu, alifanya jambo la busara. Lakini hakupewa fedha ili kuilinda tu. Alipewa ili aifanyie kazi.The first two servants went at once and traded, and each doubled what he had received. The third "went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money" (25:18). Burying money was considered the safest way to protect it in that culture, and Jewish law of the time treated a man who buried money entrusted to him as having taken proper care of it. From the world's point of view, he did the careful thing. But he was not given the money to keep it safe. He was given it to put it to work.

"Baada ya siku nyingi akaja bwana wa watumwa wale, akafanya hesabu nao" (25:19). Kukawia huko ni muhimu. Bwana alikaa mbali muda mrefu, muda wa kutosha kwa uaminifu au kutokuwa mwaminifu kudhihirika. Kila mtumwa angetoa hesabu. "Basi, kila mmoja wetu atatoa habari zake mwenyewe mbele za Mungu" (Warumi 14:12). Uwajibikaji hutulinda dhidi ya nafsi zetu wenyewe. Mwaka 1995, Barings, benki kongwe kuliko zote nchini Uingereza, ilianguka baada ya mfanyabiashara mmoja kijana katika ofisi yake ya Singapore kupoteza karibu dola bilioni moja katika michezo ya kubahatisha yenye hatari. Wachunguzi waligundua kwamba alikuwa ameruhusiwa kusimamia biashara yake na pia kutunza kumbukumbu zake mwenyewe. Hakuna mtu aliyekuwa akikagua vitabu vyake. Bila uwajibikaji, jaribu huwa na nguvu kupita kiasi."After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them" (25:19). The delay is important. The master was gone a long time, long enough for faithfulness or unfaithfulness to become clear. Every servant would give an account. "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). Accountability protects us from ourselves. In 1995, Barings, the oldest bank in Britain, collapsed after a single young trader in its Singapore office lost nearly a billion dollars on risky bets. Investigators found that he had been allowed to control both his trading and his own record-keeping. No one was checking his books. Without accountability, temptation becomes overwhelming.

Kwa watumwa wawili wa kwanza bwana alisema maneno yale yale hasa: "Vema, mtumwa mwema na mwaminifu; ulikuwa mwaminifu katika machache, nitakuweka juu ya mengi; ingia katika furaha ya bwana wako" (25:21, 23). Mtu mwenye talanta mbili alipokea sifa ile ile kama mtu mwenye talanta tano. Mungu hatupimi kwa ukubwa wa karama zetu bali kwa uaminifu wetu katika kile alichotupa. Uaminifu, si kiasi, ndio unaopata "Vema."To the first two servants the master said exactly the same words: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (25:21, 23). The man with two talents received the same praise as the man with five. God does not measure us by the size of our gifts but by our faithfulness with what He has given. Faithfulness, not the amount, earns the "well done."

Luka anaandika mfano unaofanana, mfano wa mafungu (mina) (Luka 19:11–27), uliosimuliwa Yesu alipokuwa akikaribia Yerusalemu. Huko kila mmoja wa watumwa kumi anapokea kiasi kile kile, fungu moja (mina moja), nao wanaleta matokeo tofauti: mmoja anapata mafungu kumi, mwingine matano. Watumwa wa Mathayo wanapokea viasi tofauti na wanasifiwa sawa kwa uaminifu ulio sawa. Ikisomwa pamoja, mifano hii miwili inafundisha kweli zinazokamilishana. Mungu huwapa watu wake wote baadhi ya karama kwa usawa, kama vile injili na fursa ya kutumika, na hugawa karama nyingine kwa namna tofauti kulingana na uwezo. Katika mifano yote miwili, anachokitafuta ni kile kile: matumizi ya uaminifu ya kile alichokabidhi hadi atakapokuja.Luke records a similar parable, the parable of the minas (Luke 19:11–27), told as Jesus approached Jerusalem. There each of ten servants receives the same amount, one mina, and they produce different results: one earns ten minas, another five. Matthew's servants receive different amounts and are praised equally for equal faithfulness. Read together, the two parables teach complementary truths. God gives some gifts to all His people alike, such as the gospel and the privilege of serving, and He distributes other gifts differently according to ability. In both, what He looks for is the same: faithful use of what He has entrusted until He comes.

Mtumwa wa tatu alijieleza: "Bwana, nalikujua ya kuwa wewe u mtu mgumu... basi nikaogopa, nikaenda nikaficha talanta yako katika ardhi" (25:24–25). Tatizo lake lilianza na picha ya uongo ya bwana wake. Alimwona kuwa mkali na mwenye kudai mno, kwa hiyo hofu ilimpooza. Bwana alimwita "mtumwa mbaya na mlegevu" na akasema angeweza angalau kuziweka fedha kwa watoaji riba ili zipate faida (25:26–27). Kisha ikaja kanuni tuliyokutana nayo katika Sehemu ya 7: "Kwa maana kila mwenye kitu atapewa, na kuongezewa tele; lakini asiye na kitu, hata kile alicho nacho atanyang'anywa" (25:29; linganisha Marko 4:25). Karama zinazotumiwa hukua; karama zilizozikwa hupotea.The third servant explained himself: "Lord, I knew you to be a hard man... And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground" (25:24–25). His problem began with a false picture of his master. He saw him as harsh and demanding, so fear paralyzed him. The master called him "wicked and lazy" and said he could at least have put the money with the bankers to earn interest (25:26–27). Then came the principle we met in Unit 7: "For to everyone who has, more will be given... but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away" (25:29; compare Mark 4:25). Gifts used grow; gifts buried are lost.

Mtumwa asiyefaa alitupwa "katika giza la nje" (25:30). Wakristo husoma sentensi hii kwa njia tofauti. Wengi humwelewa mtumwa wa tatu kama mtu aliyekuwa wa nyumba ya bwana kwa nje lakini hakuwahi kumjua wala kumtumaini kwa kweli, kwa hiyo hukumu yake inaonyesha kwamba hakuwahi kuwa mtumwa wa kweli. Wengine humsoma kama mwamini anayepata hasara kubwa ya thawabu, ingawa usomaji huo lazima ueleze ukali wa lugha hiyo. Na wengine huona hapa onyo kwamba mtu aliyewahi kukiri imani anaweza kuanguka kwa sababu ya kutoamini. Wanafunzi wanapaswa kuijua mitazamo hii. Wote wanakubaliana juu ya jambo la dharura: hatupaswi kuzika kile ambacho Mungu ametukabidhi.The unprofitable servant was cast "into the outer darkness" (25:30). Christians read this sentence in different ways. Many understand the third servant as someone who belonged to the master's household outwardly but never truly knew or trusted him, so his judgment shows that he was never a genuine servant. Others read him as a believer who suffers severe loss of reward, though that reading must explain the strength of the language. Still others see here a warning that a person who once professed faith can fall away through unbelief. Students should know these views. All agree on the urgent point: we must not bury what God has entrusted to us.

Uaminifu haupimwi kila mara kwa matokeo yanayoonekana. Victor Landero, mkulima asiye na elimu huko Kolombia mwenye historia ya aibu, aliokoka akawa mwinjilisti mwenye kipawa. Katika miaka kumi na tano aliwaongoza mamia, labda maelfu, kwa Kristo na akapanda makanisa katika kijiji baada ya kijiji. Kisha alihamia ndani kabisa ya msitu ili kuwafikia kabila ambalo halijawahi kusikia injili. Miaka kumi na tano baadaye mmisionari mmoja aliyemtembelea aliuliza kama tayari kulikuwa na kanisa miongoni mwao. "Hapana," Victor alijibu kwa utulivu. Kisha akaongeza, "Nitatumia maisha yangu yote yaliyosalia pamoja nao, kwa sababu huko ndiko moyo wangu ulipo." Huo ndio uaminifu ambao bwana aliusifu.Faithfulness is not always measured by visible results. Victor Landero, an uneducated farmer in Colombia with a scandalous past, was converted and became a gifted evangelist. In fifteen years he led hundreds, perhaps thousands, to Christ and planted churches in village after village. Then he moved deep into the jungle to reach a tribe that had never heard the gospel. Fifteen years later a missionary visitor asked whether there was a church among them yet. "No," Victor answered quietly. Then he added, "I will spend the rest of my life with them, because that is where my heart is." That is the faithfulness the master praised.

III. Mifano Hii Miwili Inafundisha Nini kwa PamojaIII. What the Two Parables Teach Together

Mifano hii miwili imesimama mwishoni mwa hotuba kuu ya kwanza na ya mwisho ya Yesu, na kwa pamoja inajibu maswali mawili ambayo kila mwanafunzi lazima ayakabili. Kwanza, tunajenga juu ya nini? Pili, tunafanya nini na kile tulichopokea? Mjenzi mwenye busara husikia na kutenda. Mtumwa mwaminifu hupokea na kuwekeza. Mjenzi mpumbavu husikia na hafanyi kitu. Mtumwa asiye mwaminifu hupokea na kuzika. Katika mifano yote miwili, tofauti haionekani kwa muda: nyumba mbili zinaonekana sawa wakati wa kiangazi, na talanta iliyozikwa inaonekana salama wakati bwana hayupo. Lakini dhoruba inakuja, na bwana anarudi.These two parables stand at the end of Jesus' first and last great discourses, and together they answer two questions every disciple must face. First, what are we building on? Second, what are we doing with what we have received? The wise builder hears and does. The faithful servant receives and invests. The foolish builder hears and does nothing. The unfaithful servant receives and buries. In both parables, the difference is invisible for a time: two houses look alike in the dry season, and a buried talent looks safe while the master is away. But the storm comes, and the master returns.

Hakuna mfano kati ya hii unaofundisha kwamba tunaokolewa kwa matendo yetu. Nyumba ya mjenzi mwenye busara inasimama kwa sababu ya mwamba ulio chini yake, na mwamba huo ni Kristo. Watumwa waaminifu wanafanya kazi kwa fedha ambayo ilikuwa zawadi ya bwana wao kabisa. Lakini mifano yote miwili inafundisha kwamba imani ya kweli daima hujidhihirisha katika utii na uaminifu. Kama Yakobo alivyosema, imani pasipo matendo imekufa (Yakobo 2:26). Msingi ulio kweli juu ya mwamba utazaa nyumba inayosimama; mtumwa anayeujua kweli wema wa bwana wake hataizika karama yake kwa hofu.Neither parable teaches that we are saved by our works. The wise builder's house stands because of the rock beneath it, and that rock is Christ. The faithful servants work with money that was entirely their master's gift. But both parables teach that genuine faith always shows itself in obedience and faithfulness. As James put it, faith without works is dead (James 2:26). A foundation that is really on the rock will produce a house that stands; a servant who really knows his master's goodness will not bury his gift in fear.

IV. Kuhubiri Misingi na UaminifuIV. Preaching Foundations and Faithfulness

Mfano wa wajenzi unahubiriwa vizuri katika hatua tatu: msingi wa mchanga (kusikia bila kutenda, na misingi ya uongo ya ubinafsi, tamaa ya makuu, maoni ya watu, kazi, na mali), msingi wa mwamba (utii na Kristo mwenyewe), na dhoruba (majaribu, kupoteza, na hatimaye kifo na hukumu). Mfano wa talanta unaweza kuhubiriwa kama mfululizo wa tofauti: si muda gani tulio nao bali jinsi tunavyoutumia; si kiasi gani tulicho nacho bali jinsi tunavyokiwekeza kwa uaminifu; si jinsi tunavyoonekana kufanikiwa bali jinsi tulivyo waaminifu; si kile tunachojiwekea wenyewe bali kile tunachokifanyia kazi kwa ajili ya Bwana. Malizia mahubiri yoyote kati ya hayo kwa siku ya kutoa hesabu na furaha ya kusikia, "Vema."The builders preach well in three movements: the foundation of sand (hearing without doing, and the false foundations of selfishness, ambition, opinion, work, and things), the foundation of rock (obedience and Christ Himself), and the storm (trials, loss, and finally death and judgment). The talents can be preached as a series of contrasts: it is not how much time we have but how we use it; not how much we have but how faithfully we invest it; not how successful we look but how faithful we are; not what we keep for ourselves but what we put to work for the Master. Close either sermon with the day of accounting and the joy of hearing, "Well done."

HitimishoClosing

Nyumba mbili zilisimama kando kwa kando juani, na hakuna mtu aliyeweza kuona tofauti hadi dhoruba ilipokuja. Watumwa watatu walipokea mali za bwana wao, na hakuna mtu aliyeweza kuona tofauti hadi aliporudi. Dhoruba inakuja, na Bwana naye anakuja. Swali si jinsi nyumba yetu inavyoonekana ya kuvutia au karama yetu ilivyo kubwa. Ni kama tumejenga juu ya Mwamba, na kama tumekuwa waaminifu katika kile alichoweka mikononi mwetu. Na kila mmoja wetu asikie mwishoni, "Vema, mtumwa mwema na mwaminifu... ingia katika furaha ya bwana wako."Two houses stood side by side in the sun, and no one could tell the difference until the storm. Three servants received their master's goods, and no one could tell the difference until he returned. The storm is coming, and so is the Master. The question is not how impressive our house looks or how large our gift is. It is whether we have built on the Rock, and whether we have been faithful with what He placed in our hands. May every one of us hear at the last, "Well done, good and faithful servant... Enter into the joy of your lord."

— Dkt. Wayne Cook
Chapala Theological Seminary— Dr. Wayne Cook
Chapala Theological Seminary

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