Grow Your Gifts

𝐍𝐎𝐕. 𝟏𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟐 𝐌𝐚𝐜 𝟕:𝟏, 𝟐𝟎-𝟑𝟏

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟕: 𝟏, 𝟓-𝟔, 𝟖, 𝟏𝟓 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐦𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟏𝟗:𝟏𝟏-𝟐𝟖

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: ‘𝑰 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒔, 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏,” (𝒗.26) 

It pains me to see able-bodied men who beg on the streets and it makes me wonder if it was their choice indeed to become mendicants because that is not the plan of God. Are they victims of life misfortunes or did they simply let opportunity slip from their hands because I honestly believe that there is a better alternative to mendicancy.

All Christian believers are given gifts, and our good and gracious God distributes these gifts in proportion to our capacity on how these gifts will be used. Every Christian has a gift and there's absolutely no one who has no gift. Which is why material poverty is not an option for a baptized Christian believer because God did not create us to wallow in mediocrity. He created us so that we may bear fruit and use our gifts for the common good.

Just like the Master of the house in the Gospel of 𝐋𝐊 𝟏𝟗:𝟏𝟏-𝟐𝟖, God also expects each one of us to make use of the talents entrusted to us so that we will be ready to make an accounting when He comes. In fact, our attitude should be of joyful expectation as we await the return of our Master so we can give an account of how we used our gifts.

The Jews in Jesus' time had a heightened sense that the Messiah would appear and Jesus used this parable of the talents which told of the king's trust in his subjects. While he goes away, he leaves them with his money to use as they think best.

While there were no strings attached, this was obviously a test to see if the king's subjects would be faithful and reliable in their use of the money entrusted to them and the king rewards those who are faithful and he punishes those who sit by idly and who do nothing with his money.

What this narrative means is that the Lord is prepared to give His Kingdom to anyone who will receive His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And God entrusts us with His gifts and graces, and He gives us the freedom to use them as we think best. With each gift and talent, God gives sufficient grace and energy for using them in a fitting way.

As the parable of the talents shows, God abhors indifference and an attitude that says it's not worth trying. God honors those who use their talents and gifts for doing good. Those who are faithful with even a little are entrusted with more! But those who neglect or squander what God has entrusted to them will lose even what they have.

There is an important lesson here for all of us. No one can stand still for so long in the Christian life. We either get more, or we lose what we have. We either advance towards God or we slip back. Do we trust in God's grace to make good use of the gifts and talents He has given to us?

We all have gifts (talents) to share! Today, let us reflect on this parable and perhaps we can ask ourselves how we are using our gifts. Remember too that gifts that God apportion to each one of us are for the common good. How have we shared our gifts with our neighbors? Do we hoard them like the third servant? Or do we invest it to make our world a better place to live in? (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘕𝘰𝘷. 19, 2025)