Well DONE My Good & Faithful Servant

The Parable of the Talents

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.' - Luke 19:11-26

I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to start things with a bang and then inadvertently let them fizzle to nothingness. What's the deal? The older I get, the more I can clearly see this pattern in my life. I am about to be 27 now, and have decided to change this habit before I turn 30. I am on the quest to truly see things through. To stick with them no matter how ineffective and unproductive they may seem in the middle of it all. No matter how much my flesh tells me to stop or how insistently the devil whispers in my ear that I am in over my head! I love this passage by Paul...hear his determination:

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

What is it that God has given you? What "currency" has He placed in your hand that you are to invest in His Kingdom? He gives us all "talents", or better said spiritual gifts, to build up and further His family. What are yours? If you are unsure please take this test. It is the best spiritual gifts test I have ever taken because it includes a great analysis at the end.

Sure you are saved by grace when you believe in and give your heart to Christ, but that should never be the end of your Christian story. My pastor, Brian Lorrits, put it perfectly. He spoke of the day when all of God's children will be united in glory with Christ (the Bema Judgement) and compared it to his college graduation. His undergrad career was spent just getting by...just doing enough to pass. When it was time to graduate he was exciting about the fact that he made it. But as he looked at the program he noticed the student's names who went above and beyond. Some were honored as their names were called...cum lade...magna-cum lade...suma cum-lade...he said he was just happy to graduate "thank-da-Lorde". In the mist of all the celebration he couldn't help but feel a sense of deep regret. He wished he had tried harder. He wished he had maintained the same level of excitement and enthusiasm he had when he first started school. The joy it would have been to look back knowing that he gave it all he had, and that he finished well. This portion of scripture sums it up well...

The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. - 1 Cor 3:8-15

Let's not live life that way. We get saved and are so excited at first just thinking of all God will do through us. Then slowly but surely that excitement wears off, and we are distracted by the fleeting pleasures and concerns of this life. We do just enough to get by with God, and figure...oh well, He understands.

God has created you for a purpose...for a very specific reason. Don't be like the wicked and lazy servant and bury your talent...and then have to stand before Jesus ashamed, knowing that you are saved by His Blood, but also knowing that you wasted the majority of your life and the precious gift(s) that were given to you.

Listen, it is so easy to fall away from doing good. It is easy to become tired, discouraged and distracted in this life, but please hold on! Just as a bird would not be happy if you took away its voice, and a cheetah would become distressed if it could no longer run, so you will never know what it is to live if you do not do what you have been created to do! So my friends, join me in the holy pursuit to find out, start out and see out the blessed tasks to which we have been assigned...that one day we may stand before our Beautiful Redeemer and hear those sweet and glorious words....."Well done my good and faithful servant."

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Galatians 6:7-9