Just before His death, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives delivering His final discourse to His disciples and followers. One of the last parables He told them was the parable of the talents.
In this parable, we see a master who turns portions of his wealth (talents) over to some of his servants before he leaves on a trip. While he is gone, two of the servants double what they’ve been given, and one buries the money in the ground, doing nothing with it at all.
When the master returns, he praises the two who took the resources they had been given and multiplied them. “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21) The third servant is condemned for being “wicked and slothful and his talent is taken away.
This clearly was an important message that Jesus wanted to leave with His followers. Use what you’ve been given! Take every opportunity! Make a difference! This motivates us to question: What have I been entrusted with in this life? What am I doing with it?
And a thought recently crossed my mind: Could trials and tragedies somehow be considered “talents” too?
We naturally see things like our finances, our time, our gifts, and our abilities as resources we can use to honor and glorify God. But what if even our trials are put in our lives to honor and glorify Him? What if our suffering can be used for a specific purpose?
The hard things God brings us through can be chances for Him to use us in ways He couldn’t have otherwise. Our difficulties can open doors for us to serve and witness to others in a very unique and specific way.
When we are in the middle of something hard we usually cannot see how any good could ever come from it. But hang on, because God uses everything!
Hudson Taylor said, “All our difficulties are only platforms for the manifestation of His grace, power, and love.”
We can pray for God to open our eyes to the “talents” in our lives that He wants to use. He may be ready to use us through circumstances that we never would have imagined or predicted.
And what a true treasure when we “enter into the joy” of our master.
Thank you Kris for your weekly inspiration! I look forward to your positive word each week!