“I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the
work which You have given Me to do.”—John 17:4
In the parable of the talents, the master gave three servants
an assignment to carry out in his absence, along with the resources to
accomplish it. Upon his return, he asked for an accounting of what they'd done.
“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. And to one he gave
five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own
ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five
talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more
also. But he who had received
one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants
came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came
and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five
talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘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.’ He
also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two
talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His
lord said to him, ‘Well done,
good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will
make you ruler over many things. Enter
into the joy of your lord.’ Then he who
had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man,
reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered
seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your
talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ But
his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that
I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with
the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and
give it to him who has ten
talents. For to everyone who
has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not
have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into
the outer darkness. There will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth’” ( Matthew
25:14-30).
From this parable, we can understand several principles about
the Christian life. First, God has
chosen us to be His servants. Second, He
has prepared an assignment for us to
do, and He supplies the things and abilities that we will need to achieve it.
Some of what we are to do apply to all believers—such as loving Him through thru
loving people, and making disciples. He gives us specific assignments to us, utilizing our personal talents and skills. Finally, the Lord blesses those who obey Him.
Pleased by the obedience of two servants, the master, in Matthew 25:14-30,
passage recompensed them accordingly. In
a similar way, we are promised a heavenly reward for our faithful service.
Being a good steward of what God has entrusted to us is a
serious matter. He wants us to invest in His kingdom plan rather than over committing
time to earthly matters or overspending on the pursuit of pleasure. You might
wonder about the third servant. The
master was very disappointed in the servant’s attitude towards being accountable for his assignment. He did nothing with his talent and was cast
out of his master's presence. This cannot happen to believers, for we are
permanently adopted into God's family. But
the Lord will hold us accountable for all that we do, “So then each of us shall give account of himself [herself] to God”
(Romans 14:12).
With the Holy Spirit's help, we can move past our
self-centered ways to carry out God's assignment. If you
do not know what your assignment is, ask Him to reveal it to you, and for His
help in carrying out the assignment.
Prayer—Father I ask You
to clearly show me what my assignment is and for strength my talents and
abilities to carry it out, in Jesus Name.
Amen.