July
11, 2003
ENTER
INTO THE JOY OF YOUR LORD
"Well
done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a
few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter
into the joy of your lord" (Matthew 25:21, NKJV).
As Jesus
sat with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, He shared with
them insights into the future and the end of the world. One
of the parables that He told them was as follows. "The
kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country,
who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.
And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another
one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately
he went on a journey.
"Then
he who had received the five talents went and traded with
them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had
received two gained two more also. But he who had received
one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.
After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled
accounts with them.
"So
he who had received five talents came and brought five other
talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents;
look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord
said to him. 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were
faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many
things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had
received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to
me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides
them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done good and faithful
servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will
make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your
lord.
"Then
he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I
knew to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and
gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid,
and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you
have what is yours"
(Matthew 25:14-25).
The Lord
gives us talents, not to use selfishly, but to be a blessing
to others. And as we use our talents in service for others,
we are blessed and our abilities increase. A friend of mine
once said, "If the Lord asks you to do a job, He gives
you the ability to do it. And if you perform it faithfully,
He blesses you for doing it. What more can you ask?"
Our Lord provides the opportunities, He provides the resources,
He provides the talents and He provides a special blessing
to those who faithfully serve Him. "If
you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes"
(Mark 9:23).
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