Matthew_25
Scripture
Matthew 25: 22-23, 29
“Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.”
Observation - What does it say?
At this point in time, Jesus is in Jerusalem during the time of the passover. He has already told His disciples of His coming death, in chapter 20. In chapters 24 and 25, He is talking with His disciples about His second coming. In 24:42 Jesus tells us that we need to be on alert because we don’t know when He will arrive. Chapter 25 goes on to show us a couple of examples of being faithful while waiting for Him.
Understanding - What does it mean?
Faith; the short and long of it!!
I feel like I spent a considerable amount of time in my twenties worried about finding out what “God’s will” for my life was. I wanted to have a deep conviction that I was fulfilling my destiny. Part of my angst during this time was due to a few events that seemed deeply traumatic at the time. In my searching, I never really slowed down to evaluate whether or not I was being faithful with the opportunities God had placed right in front of me. Additionally, I have always had the tendency to compare myself to those around me and complain about how they received a better hand to play with.
One of the beautiful things that we get a picture of in this parable is God’s economy. In God’s economy ten is equal to four. As the master responds to his servants, he tells both the good servants “Well done. You have been faithful with a little, to you more will be given.” We see that God is more concerned with how we steward what he has given us, rather than how much it is. It is only in mans economy that 10 is more than 4, or that 1st place is better than 28th place. In reality all of the things God has given us belong fully to Him, he has simply asked us to take care of them for a bit.
In Romans 12:3-8 Paul tells us about our spiritual gifts. In this passage he points out that God has distributed our gifts as He sees fit, and that as the body of Christ we are interdependent on each other not independent. Nobody in the church is more important than the other, the worship leader no more important than the person in charge of cleaning the toilets. What is important is that we use our gifts to glorify God, and this requires some amount of perseverance. Galatians 6:9-10 says “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” So do good because Jesus is coming, we just don’t know when.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjSx7xsgSWY[/embed]
Life application
Jesus, help me to stay faithful in the small things. Because I know that in bringing you glory in these things will help me to see the big picture. I know and trust you have the big picture already taken care of. I choose to lean on your understanding and not my finite wisdom. Help me to find joy in holding the door for a stranger, in driving my car in a courteous way, in being generous with the money and time you have given me. I want to be a good light for you, Matthew 5:14-16
- Tyler Galloway