Matthew 25:14-30
Thursday, 21 July 2022
After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.” –Matthew 25:19
‘The Parable of the Talents’ is told by Jesus to His disciples in response to their question of His return and the end of the ages (Matthew 24:3). Though many followed Him, some of these precious truths were only shared with his disciples. Even today as His disciples, may we align our lives to these truths and not be found wanting in any way or missing His reward when He returns.
Let’s take time with the Scripture to understand the Master who we await and must give an account of our lives.
He assigns us a task specifically
Eph. 2:10 says we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works that He has prepared for us in advance to do. Our Call is always accompanied with a specific task. When the Lord entrusts us with a duty, He does it according to His understanding of who we are and what we are capable of doing (V.15.). God is not partial (Deut.10:17); He is just and true in all His ways (Rev. 15:3). You might be upfront serving Him or anonymous to the world around, but whatever you are involved in, you are “to do everything unto the Lord.” (Col.3:17) It’s a very unique task that the God of the universe has entrusted to each of us. May He find us faithful when He returns!
He rewards us individually
When the master entrusted his workers with a task, he never set targets for them to achieve. He only expected them to work diligently with what was given and their reward was based on this. The two qualities he saw in his servants that caused him to reward them were their goodness- meaning being upright and honourable and faithfulness-meaning being trustworthy. These are the very same qualities that Jesus expects to see in us on His return.
How will we receive this reward? Hebrews 10:36 says ‘You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.’
What has God promised us? Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. (Col.3:23&24)
Will God compare our work with others? Paul again reminds us in Romans 2:6 that ‘God will repay each person according to what we have done. There is no comparison in the kingdom of God.
Each of us runs our race individually, and one day will face Our Creator who rewards us rightly. So may we all run in such a way that we will get the prize (1Cor 9:24).
He judges us righteously
Though the master was loving and just in his ways, one of the servants failed to understand his ‘Righteous Nature.’ His vision of his master was blurred (vs 24). This resulted in his slackness in performing his assigned duty (vs 25). So he had to face the righteous chastisement meted out to him- a separation from the master and his household (vs30)
How is our vision of Our Heavenly Master? Are our eyes longing to see His return? Or has disappointments, discouragement, disease and doubt clouded our commitment and love for Him, that we have backtracked on our service to Him? Never forget this: God does not want to see us perish and be separated from Him (2Peter 3:9). So, He’s preparing a home for His children where there is everlasting joy. So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s spur each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25 [The MSG]
Quote for the day: “Jesus is coming back again. It might be sooner than some of us may think. Let's be ready.” -Greg Laurie
Listen: 'Lo He comes in clouds descending'
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