Daniel Chapter 5, Part 2

Mene, mene, tekel, parsin

31^st August 2007

Recently, I took another look at Daniel Chapter 5, and I was struck afresh by these words, spoken by Daniel to king Belshazzar of Babylon:

Daniel 5:25-28
"... you did not honour the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.
This is what these words mean:
Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

Leaving aside the details of Belshazzar's sin, let's consider these words as applied to our own lives.

• How much have we honoured God?
• How genuinely do we remember that He holds in His hand our lives and all our ways?
• How real to us is the truth that God has numbered the days of our life, and will bring it to an end? Have we truly understood that one day we will stand before Him for judgment?
• If God weighed us on the scales - and He surely will - will we be found wanting?
• Do we realise that, after we're gone, all that we've built and all that we've worked for will be divided up and given to others? You really can't take it with you.

I know, as a Christian, that my sin is forgiven. I know that I will survive the day of judgment and will live in glory with my king, Jesus Christ, for ever. But I also know that He will weigh my life in the scales of eternal, divine justice. Remember Paul's words:

1 Corinthians 3v11-15
... no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Your life will be revealed with fire, its quality will be tested. And some of it will be burned up!

How much of what you have done with your life will be burned up and how much will survive?

If you are a Christian, you will be saved (praise God for His mercy) but, my brother or sister, God sees what we do with the time and the opportunities given to us. He sees how much of a difference we make to the world while we're here. In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25v14-29) Jesus makes it clear that we should make a difference in proportion to the gifts given to us. Paul says the same thing in:

Romans 12v6-8
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Notice the words in proportion. And this passage is just a small set of examples. We should serve God in the world, we should make a difference and we should do so in proportion to the abilities and opportunities God has given us.

Recently, I watched the excellent film "Amazing Grace" about William Wilberforce, who achieved the abolition of slavery, motivated by his faith in God and his love for his fellow men (although he was not alone in this endeavour, he did make a huge difference). And when the film was over, I found a new determination to use the remaining years of my life to make a difference in the world. To demonstrate the love of God through service to men and women. We can't all be William Wilberforce, but we can all do whatever it is that we can do.

What you can do may be very different from what I can do. But we can all do something. How much of what we can do will we actually do?

Matthew 5v14-16
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Yes - you! And me.