Are you prepared for the return of Christ? I hope so. The Lord gave us a few parables to warn us of how to be ready. I want to take a few posts to look at one in particular. It’s the one we usually call 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. Then he went on his journey.”
Matthew 25:14-15

If you know anything about the money systems mentioned in Scripture, then you realize that this was a lot of money.   In New Testament times a talent was roughly equivalent to the price of an ox.

If it were today’s economy, it would be as if the first servant received $50,000. The second would have received about $25,000, while the last servant would have been given about $5,000. So, all in all, the man gave out a fair amount of money.

The problem the servants were faced with is that there were some strings attached to this money. The man gave it to the servants with a purpose in mind.

He said, “I’m entrusting my property to you.” It’s still my money – but I want you to turn a profit with it. He made it clear that he was giving them oversight concerning this money so that it would be invested for him while he was away.

“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.”
Matthew 25:16-18

I believe that the Lord is talking here about the resources that God has given us. He’s entrusted certain things to the Church. And depending on our position in the Body of Christ, we’re entrusted with more or less.

Obviously, the Bible says that those who teach are going to be held more responsible than those who don’t. All of us are given responsibilities, and we’re going to be judged according to the handling of those responsibilities.

That’s why it’s so important for me to seek out my gifts and callings in the Lord. As He reveals them to me, I become responsible to carry them out. Ignorance is not an excuse.

There are many believers who refuse to seek God concerning their calling so that they will not have to work for God. They’re too busy seeking their own pleasures. This is the same as hiding the talent in the ground.

God has a work for each of us to do. Whether we ask Him about it or not, we’ll be judged on how well we complete it.

Knowing that these servants were given this responsibility, we should be very interested to see the outcome. It will help us to prepare for the day when we’ll be called to give account for our actions. This is what I’ll be posting about in the next few articles.

Question: What are the gifts and talents that you’ve been given by God?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015