02. The Comfortable Grave.
You Were Made for So Much More Than This
You can have a full retirement calendar, and still be burying what God entrusted to you.
The days fill up quickly.
A little travel. A few projects. Lunch with friends. Another show. Another week gone.
None of those things is necessarily wrong. Rest is a gift. Time with family matters.
But comfort can quietly become the purpose of our lives.
And the years we intended to give to something meaningful disappear into something pleasant.
What if we are protecting the very things God gave us to put to work?
In Matthew 25, Jesus described a master who entrusted his resources to three servants before leaving on a journey.
Two servants put what they received to work.
The third dug a hole and buried his master’s money.
He did not squander it. He did not steal it. He kept it safe.
But keeping it safe was not what his master had asked of him.
When the master returned, the servant explained:
“I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.”
Matthew 25:25 WEB
The master called him a “wicked and slothful servant” (Matthew 25:26, WEB).
His failure was refusing to put what he had received to work.
That should make us pause.
We often examine our lives by asking, “What wrong things am I doing?”
This story presses another question:
“What good have I been entrusted to do, and left undone?”
For those of us in our later years, that question becomes deeply personal.
We may have experience that could strengthen a younger leader.
Time that could be given to prayer and disciple-making.
Relationships through which someone could discover Jesus.
Resources that could encourage a faithful worker.
A home where a few people could gather around Scripture.
Yet we can bury those gifts beneath perfectly reasonable explanations:
“I have already done my part.”
“I am too old to begin something new.”
“Someone more qualified will do it.”
“I will get involved when life settles down.”
Fear buried the servant’s talent. Comfort can bury ours.
Retirement changes our employment. It does not cancel our calling to follow Jesus.
We can enjoy these years while giving them a purpose worthy of the One who gave them to us.
Imagine using an hour each week to encourage someone who is learning to make disciples.
Imagine inviting a few friends to discover and obey the words of Jesus together.
Imagine praying faithfully for a household that has never heard the gospel, and helping someone reach them.
Imagine putting your years of experience behind a younger believer who needs someone to say, “I will walk with you.”
You may move more slowly than you once did. Your health or responsibilities may limit what you can do.
God knows your capacity. What can you faithfully do with what you have today?
Our desire to help finish the Great Commission by 2033 gives urgency to that question.
There are people who still need to hear about Jesus. There are disciples who need encouragement. There are leaders who need someone to help them practice, persevere, and multiply.
Some of what they need may already be in your hands.
Name What You Have Been Burying
Take a sheet of paper and finish this sentence:
“Something God has entrusted to me that I have been burying is __________.”
Be specific.
Then answer:
“What will I do with it this week?”
Make the call. Invite the person. Set aside the hour. Offer the help. Begin the training.
Take one step that brings what you have buried back into use.
When the Master returns, what will we have done with what He entrusted to us?
Want to go further?
All ten Zúme discipleship lessons are on my site, free, with the video and the same teaching notes I use when I train leaders in person. Take them on your own, take them with a few friends, or join me live on Zoom and I will teach them to you face to face. When you finish, tell me and I will coach you personally.
Start the ten lessons:
https://internationalafricanmobilization.com/training/terrys-zume-teaching-series/
Join a live training –
https://zume.training/join-a-training
Your gift would be tax deductible and overseen by Northside Christian Church, our sending church.
Next steps: Tell us where you are and how we can help. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmadZCE-d1A