What's Your Talent?

Every person is given talents according to his/her abilities. Let us read what Jesus has to say on the subject and then try to explain out what he meant by his parables. Matthew 21: 33-45 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Another parable by Jesus on our ability's he gives us and his requirements from them goes as the following. Matthew 25:14-30 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now the explanation. A certain householder planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower overlooking it. Then he gave the job of keeping it to a certain man, and left the country. His only expectation was that he would have fruit from his vineyard in due season. The husbandman caretaker would have little to do besides routinely looking after the vineyard. The land had already been worked. A vat in the midst of the vineyard meant that he could produce delicious fresh wine without having to haul the harvest to market, or even to barns. The ripe fruit could immediately be prepared for consumption and

future use. He could work in relative ease. A hedge prevented unwanted visitors from intruding, especially the foxes that spoiled the vines. And a tower would provide him an opportunity to identify approaching trespassers in time to gain a tremendous advantage over them. And job itself demanded little more than simple maintenance of the vineyard to ensure a bountiful yield on the crop. In exchange for his labor, he could expect to partake in the harvest, even though he had no personal investment in the harvest to begin with. The kings of the nation of Israel were given power and authority over Abraham's descendants. There had never been a group of people in the world with so much potential. The field was extremely fertile. They were a nation that had begun via miracles, signs, and wonders which nourished their faith in God. The seed in their hearts was the infallible Word of God, handed down to them in the Mount by the hand of God. The land had been especially good land. It was one of milk and honey in abundance even before they arrived. Yet a strange thing happened. When the time of the harvest came, the husbandmen became selfish and possessive of the vineyard. When the owner's servants first arrived to receive the fruit of the vineyard, instead of delivering a rich harvest to them, the husbandmen chose to murder the servants, and reserve the fruit for themselves. How foolish they had to become to ignore the fact that judgment would surely come upon them. As one servant, one prophet, one preacher at a time came to call for the owner's fruit, the husbandmen insanely slaughtered them in cold blood. Then the owner's (God) own son (Jesus) came to call. "Surely they will reverence my son!" the owner had reasoned. But tragically, their demented minds had become totally disconnected from the morality and purpose of their occupation. Their selfish obsession pressed them into the final merciless act, as they crucified the one who would have been their very benefactor. But vengeance belongs to the Lord. Unto God belongs vengeance. Remember vengeance is not fine but mine, saith the Lord God. Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The vineyard was taken from the evil and abusive (Israel) husbandmen. And it was given to other husbandmen who would give the owner his fruit in due season.From a vantage point of two thousand years distant, we can see the God of all the earth transferring the title deed of everything He owns into the hands of common men. Peter who fisherman, Matthew who a tax collector, Saul who a misguided religious zealot. And suddenly, under the crude handling of ignorant and unlearned men whose most noble virtue was a sincere desire to please the Lord, wonderful things began to happen. The fruit of His vineyard began to abundantly multiply. The Holy Spirit came upon the 120 disciples who witnessed to and commanded the repentant Jews from every nation there to be baptized in the name of Jesus, and to continue in their teachings. (Acts 2:37-42) The fruit was bearing, and new wine was flowing like a river. From Jerusalem, it flowed to every nation. And the owner of the vineyard was pleased. Faith please God greatly. Hebrews 11:1 and 6. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Today, as in every generation his vineyard is in the hands of husbandmen who are without a moment's notice subject to the judgment of the owner. Those who serve Him faithfully, fulfilling their ministry, bearing fruit, presenting precious souls to Him for His good pleasure, will inherit all things. " Unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him" (Luke 19:26). Jesus illustrated the pleasure of the lord of the servant, saying, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: " (Matthew 25) The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works" (Matthew 16:27). Christ Jesus is definitely interested in our profitability to his cause. The situation in Matthew 25 can be described as the faithful use of one's gifts will lead to participation in the fullness of the kingdom and the lazy's inactivity to exclusion from it. Our reward will be determined according to our return on his

investment. If we multiply our talents, we will be given additional talents. If we waste, squander, or in any way cause our talents to be unprofitable, we will be stripped of those we had. Every man is given talents according to his ability (Matthew 25:15), which indicates that none of us have been given a greater responsibility than we are able to fulfill. Each of us serves with a different handicap, yet we all perform under a pressure of duty. And for our labors, we know that "he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6). A good husbandman stands to reap a bountiful harvest. Now to sum it all up. Jesus' parable of the talents calls the disciple community to trustful obedience in its imaginative and confident use of the master's resources while it waits for the return of the our savior who is Jesus Christ our Lord. God will give us all the wisdom to change the things we can and know what those things are. If we ask him in faith. God is faithful in all things. And may he greatly increase both everyone's wisdom and knowledge of him and all things needful to this life.