Pray:
Lord, help me to be faithful and to understand that You are behind me, cheering me on when I take the risks of faith.
Read:
Matthew 25:14-30
Reflect:
Are you faithfully using the gifts God has given you?
We are all to be found somewhere in this parable. We may feel as if we've been entrusted with a great deal of gifts, power and influence, as the man with five bags of gold. We may feel like the man entrusted with comparatively little. Either way, God has entrusted us with the gift of life and various other gifts and resources. It's up to us how we use them.
The conclusion of this story may seem shocking. After all, the man who buries his talents is trying to preserve what he has been given (18,24,25). Yet in God's eyes, burying the treasure he's entrusted us with is the worst thing we could choose to do with it.
God believes in us. He gives us gifts and resources, because he trusts us to try to put them to good use, to bless others and see the kingdom extend. To simply bury our treasure is to betray that trust. So whether the parable seems fair or not is irrelevant. The application for us is to work out what treasure God has entrusted to us, and consider how to put it to work for him. He believes and expects that we'll use it well.
Apply:
How could you practically put your talents and resources to work for God and for the benefit of others?
Pray:
Lord, You are generous in giving gifts and in encouraging us when we step out. Let us see You as You are.
