Matt. 25
How are you using what God has invested in you for His purposes? I have always struggled with this parable of the bags of gold, or talents, as it is sometimes translated. I don’t know what the talents are meant to represent. But I’m thinking maybe that part doesn’t really matter. If I take the 30,000 foot view of this parable rather than focusing on details like that, I see that the wicked servant had a misunderstanding of his master. I also see that, whether he was looking to avoid punishment or was more interested in doing his own thing than in working for his master’s gain, he was concerned with himself. Interestingly, in putting his effort toward making his own life more pleasant, he missed out on the real reward.
People tend to focus on the “Well done, good and faithful servant” part of the master’s response to his good servants. But look at the last part. “Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matt. 25:21b). This parable has the same theme as losing your life to save it and storing up your treasures in heaven rather than here on earth. This life is fleeting. Any happiness we find in it is likewise fleeting. We can work to gain happiness in this life, but it will only be taken away. The good news is that God, the only source of true and lasting happiness, wants to share His joy with us. We need only to let go of our own desires and work for His to receive it.
Deut. 31-32
Why did Moses assemble the people and read the Law? What does this imply for your own spiritual practices? Why do you think Moses wrote his song? How do songs affect us? What songs do you remember from your early days? I don’t think I ever noticed before that Moses’ song was given to him by God, just like the law. And I see now that God gave both the law and the song as a witness against the people. The song was something of an “I told you this would happen”. The law and the song together give a testimony that is as much applicable to us as it was to the Israelites who received it. None of us is righteous. We have all broken God’s law and are deserving of death, with only ourselves to blame. This is the witness they bear against us.
Thank God He gave us that message for a reason! The song says that when we come to the end of ourselves, we will find Him there. We will know that He is the God who saves, and that there is no god besides Him. And whatever else happens, we know the end of the story. “Rejoice, you nations, with His people, for He will avenge the blood of His servants; He will take vengeance on His enemies and make atonement for His land and people.” (Deut. 32:43).
Ps. 40
“I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.” (Ps.40:10). That makes me think of the parable of the bags of gold that we just looked at in Matthew 25. The wicked servant hid what God had given him instead of sharing it to put it to work for God’s glory. God has saved us by giving us His righteousness. He has filled us with His faithful love. These gifts were not meant for us to hide for our own benefit. God’s resources are not limited – the more abundantly we share what He gives, the more abundantly we receive from Him.