Ep.1215: What Am I Doing with What God Has Given Me?
Examining the responsibilities God gives us and how well we do them
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CHAPTERS
Theme Scripture: Matthew 25:14
As Christians, we are truly blessed. Having given our lives to Jesus, we are assured that all of our experiences are overruled for our best benefit. This is not to imply we can just coast along as though we were given a ticket for some magical ride to heaven riding on fluffy clouds of comfort. On the contrary. Being a Christian is hard. We are expected to work in the service of God through Jesus on a regular daily basis. We are also expected to be accountable for what we do or don’t do. In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus shows us that we are given specific work to do for him, and that we have exactly what we need to get the job done. So, the question is, how am I doing? What godly things have I been given to do, and am I daily working at accomplishing them?
In the Parable of the Talents, a master is traveling to a faraway place. He gathers his servants to him and gives them each a large sum of money to work with while he is gone. Upon his return, he demands an accounting of their activity in his absence. To those who have worked profitably, he doles out a generous reward. To those who have not, he doles out a punishment. Jesus is represented by the master in the story. He spoke this parable to prepare his followers for his inevitable departure to heaven.
There are several points of significance in this story, but we will only touch on parts of two:
- This master turns over his "wealth” to these particular servants in his absence. He implicitly trusts them to be responsible for the profitable investment of all his money. So, what did this wealth of Jesus that he handed over to true Christians represent? Several things. Perhaps the most obvious application of this wealth is the gospel. Jesus’ very presence for his earthly mission was “glad tidings of great joy to all people!” In his absence, this message is no less glad and no less important.
True Christians are tasked with protecting the integrity of this message while spreading it to the world.
- The master distributes his wealth to his servants according to their individual ability. This one seemingly small detail ends up being of powerful importance. Jesus left his followers with a lot to handle, and yet he didn’t leave them with too much to handle.
Check out our February 7, 2022 podcast, “What Am I Doing with What God Has Given Me?” for more. We lay out the several aspects of what this entrusted wealth means. The discussion continues about the implications of being given responsibility according to our ability. We address the accusation in the parable that the master is a harsh man. This story is a blueprint for handling our Christian responsibilities and talents. Don’t miss its inspiration and encouragement!
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