"Occupy Till I Come" Luke 19:13

“Occupy till I come”
Luke 19:13

All ability and talent come from God and are to be used to gain more.

In the parables of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:11 - 27) and the Talents (Matt. 25:14 – 30), the servants given the “minas” and the “talents” who did not produce the expected gain were respectively described by Jesus as “worthless” and “lazy.” This is not something sincerely enthusiastic believers of the Lord Jesus Christ would like to hear about themselves. But there it is, as clear as daylight. Those who do not use their God-given ability to produce more gain are worthless and lazy! Why?

First, let us recognize that all ability and “talent” come from God; given to us out of His mercy and grace: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights...” (James 1:17). These grace gifts are dispensed according to His sovereign will, Ecclesiastes 2:26 and Romans 12:6 confirm this truth: “For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight...” and “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith.” And they all come through Jesus Christ, as the verse “unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Eph. 4:7) confirms.

Regrettably, there is an inward looking aspect to the God-given “talents” to which we fall easy prey. Ecclesiastes 5:19 says that they are also given to man for him to “eat thereof ... and to rejoice ... it is the gift of God.” However, if we stop there selfishly, then I fear the words “worthless” and “lazy” would be apt descriptions of our stewardship.

For us, undeserving believer recipients of His grace and blessings, there is a grand, noble purpose which we have to rise to. All our God-given ability and talent are to be used and directed to two areas. Internally, (i.e., within the Church, the body of Christ) to “minister one to another” (1 Peter 4: 10), and externally (i.e., to those outside the church) to “go ... teach ... baptise...” (Matt. 28: 19).

In summary, that is the purpose of the God-given ability and talent (spiritual gifts) - to be used in ministry to one another. They are not given to us so that we will have a spiritual superiority complex nor to draw attention to ourselves. None of us can ever say that he is more spiritual than a Christian brother or sister simply because God has given us a gift which they do not possess.

“Minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” That is the highest calling of the Christian—to so live under the lordship of Jesus Christ that we acknowledge that He alone is our Master. Then we are called to serve Him and His people. We are the willing servants of Christ who have the delight of dispensing His grace in its varied forms. We minister to each other and build up the body of Christ by using the grace gifts that God has entrusted to us.

In Christ,
Rev Robert Chew