23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
We are called to do something. We all have a gift or a talent that we have been given and we are called to use it. It can be as simple as kindness or compassion. Prayer or just a few words of encouragement. Never ever withhold something that is good from someone by doing nothing. Its' not up to us to decide what gifts God has given us but it is up to us to use them for his glory.
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Allen Michaels: 22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with
two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “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!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold 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.
25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “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? 27 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.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.
29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an
abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from
them.
30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
This
parable describes the consequences of two attitudes to Christ’s return.
The person who diligently prepares for it by investing his or her time
and talent to serve God will
be rewarded. The person who has no heart for the work of the kingdom
will be punished. God rewards faithfulness. Those who bear no fruit for
God’s kingdom cannot expect to be treated the same as those who are
faithful.
The
last man was thinking only of himself. He hoped to play it safe and
protect himself from his hard master, but he was judged for his
self-centeredness. We must not make excuses
to avoid doing what God calls us to do. God truly is our Master so we
must obey him willingly. Our time, abilities, and money aren’t ours in
the first place—we are caretakers, not owners. When we ignore, squander,
or abuse what we are given, we are rebellious
and deserve to be punished.
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Reading for Tomorrow for Matthew 25:31-46
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[f] you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.[g] 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
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