To each person born God has given talents. These abilities are to be built upon and shared with others.
Holy Spirit help us to make the most of our talents gifted to us for our pleasure and for Your glory.
I am so very thankful for His gifts. He loves us so very much.
God gives gifts, not miserly, but abundantly! And he doesn’t give gifts randomly, but carefully, “to each according to each one’s unique ability” (Matthew 25:15).
Remember, no one else has your talents. No one. God elevates you from common-hood by matching your unique abilities to custom-made assignments. “Well done good and faithful servant,” Jesus will say to some (Matthew 25:23).
Maybe your dad never praised you or your teachers always criticized you, but God will applaud you. And to have him call you “good”? When he does, it counts. Only he can make bad sinners good, and only he can make the frail faithful. “Well done, good and faithful.”
The point? Use your uniqueness to take great risks for God. The only mistake is not to risk making one. Max Lucado
…if not now, when is the time for wonder?
This explains why I may not see the connection between groundedness—awareness, immersed in the sacred present—and my capacity to care. To embrace wonder, rejoice, grieve, weep. To reach out, give, serve, replenish and restore.
You see, here’s the deal: Groundedness (the sacred present) marries gratitude, and spills, becoming generosity and transformation. And I want to share this gift of wonder. “Did you see that?” “Did not our hearts burn within us?” SabbathMoments
Matthew 25:20–30
20 “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.’ 21 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.’ 22 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.’ 23 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.’ 24 “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. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ 26 “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. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 ‘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. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’The New King James Version
the kingdom of heaven (Gk. hē basileia tōn ouranōn) (3:2; 4:17; 5:3, 10; 10:7; 25:1) Strong’s #932; 3772: This phrase, used almost exclusively in Matthew’s Gospel (33 times), is a Jewish way of saying “the kingdom of God.” The Jews avoided saying the name of God out of respect for Him. Therefore they often used the word heaven as an alternative way to refer to God. The word heaven also points to the heavenly nature of Jesus’ kingdom. His kingdom did not involve a political restoration of the nation of Israel as many Jews had hoped. Instead He brought a heavenly kingdom with a spiritual domain, the hearts of His people. Such a kingdom demanded internal repentance, not just external submission. It provided deliverance from sin rather than political deliverance.
The first two servants received the same reward, even though they had received different amounts of money. The reward was based on faithfulness, not on the size of their responsibilities. The smallest task in God’s work may receive a great reward if we are faithful in performing it.
The wicked servant was lazy and unfaithful, because if he really had feared his master, he would at least have deposited the money with the bankers. Then the master would have received back the investment plus interest. This proverb illustrates that a person must use what God has given or else lose it (see Hebrews 5:11, 12). This includes abilities and spiritual gifts, as well as material possessions (1 Pet. 4:10). The NKJV Study Bible
Faithful stewardship pleases the master more than the actual return on his investment. Rather than present his master with the results of his assignment this slave tries to justify his inaction.
The servant’s statement shows that he should have known better than to simply give back the same amount that he received. He understood what the master wanted—a return on the investment—but he chose a different course of action. Faithfulness results in blessing and reward. The inverse of this statement also is true. Faithlife Study Bible
Luke 19:11–27 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’“And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’“And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ ”
Matthew 8:12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 24:47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.
Matthew 13:12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
Matthew 24:45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
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