Bible Reading: Matthew 25
Matthew 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Jesus gives us a kingdom principle here that we should heed. The Lord made this statement in the midst of the teaching on the talents. Three men were entrusted with sums of money by their Lord who was going to a far country. Each one gave an account of his stewardship when the Lord returned. The first two men doubled the money their Master had given them and they were commended by the Lord. The third man had done nothing with the money but had hidden it in the ground. This shows that he did not know the character of his Master and did not respect him.
Matthew 25:24-25 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
This man was rebuked by the Lord as wicked and slothful. Then his talent was taken from him and given to the man who had ten talents. The kingdom principle is clearly defined by Jesus at this point. If you will use what God has given you, you will be given more. But if you disregard the things of God, you will lose even what you have. Do you take full advantage of the opportunities that God has given you? Do you see God as a hard taskmaster or a loving Heavenly Father? If you see him as hard, you probably don’t know him at all.
What opportunities has God given you? Will you take full advantage of them or will you go and hide them? Our stewardship is going to be inspected by the Lord. He expects us to invest for the kingdom. This includes money, time, energy, and ability. He does not expect more from us than he knows we are capable of. He expects us to use the good gifts he has given us to advance his kingdom. He will not compare us to others. He will inspect what we have done with what he has given to us.
Live for Jesus!
In Christ,
Rody
