December 10 - Faithful

December 10 - Faithful

Matthew 25:14-30

I grew up with these parables, but it wasn't until I was much older that I realized that they were associated with Jesus' teaching on His second coming. The Parable of the Talents has been used over and over as pastors teach about generosity, proper use of God's money, etc. But, the original intent of this is something quite different and even more fascinating.

If you look back at Matthew 25:1, you read, "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ..."

At that time simply means the time when Jesus returns.

Now, in Matthew 25:14, Jesus continues by saying "Again, it will be like ..." He is continuing the thought process regarding the time when He returns.

There are three servants (actually, slaves) that are being asked to care for something very special while their master is away on a journey. The master believes these three men to be capable of caring for his property. When he 'entrusted' his property to them, he wasn't giving it to them to keep for themselves, but to aid him in building his business while he was gone.

(I trust that you see the spiritual parallels here with Jesus as the master and us as the servants.)

Five talents was a huge amount of money. One of the commentaries I read said that it would be enough to pay 100 men for a year. So, even one talent is a significant investment.

The first two servants invested wisely and reaped great benefits, even to the point that when the master returned, he rewarded them not with money, but with more responsibility. The third servant was fearful of the master and decided to be safe and buried his portion. It was stripped from him, as was any responsibility he might ever have and given to the first servant. Notice that it wasn't given to the first servant as a monetary reward, but as another portion of the investment so that he could continue to make it grow. The first servant had done great work for the master and the master wanted to see his investment continue to grow.

Jesus has been gone from earth for a long time. We are each given incredible talents which He wants us to use to benefit the heavenly kingdom. When He returns, how will He look at our lives? Have we invested our talents wisely to ensure that there is maximum return? Do people around us know that Jesus is the Son of Man and the Son of God because of our lives? Or do we hide ourselves from the world, never bothering to stand forth and tell of our faith in Jesus?

He will return. I want to stand before Him and hear those words, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" With what I have been given, I want to tell the world about Him.