[12-4-2022]
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey” (Mat 25:14-15).
It seems that the Lord is talking a lot lately about the end of time; in pastoral sermons, prophetic podcasts, and writings. I believe He’s trying to get our attention and prepare us for the next ‘phase’ of existence (which, I believe to be eternity in Heaven). Reading through Scripture and the instructions the Lord has given throughout time, both in the Holy writ and through men and women used by God to speak on His behalf, the Lord has painted a picture of what the last of the last days would look like and the activity necessary to close this age, and usher in the next. The opening passage is one of them. I underlined “according to his own ability” because that is where the rest of this discussion is going.
This message began brewing in my heart earlier this year as I was reading through the book of Exodus. The Lord wanted the children of Israel to make a sanctuary “that I may dwell among them” (Ex. 25:8b). Being the God of order that He is He had specific designs for that sanctuary, every detail – the material for the walls and all of the equipment in it. Again, being the God of order that He is, He had specific individuals who were to perform the work of this creation – people who already had the capabilities to do each task. They were equipped for the jobs they were assigned to: “And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the LORD has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the LORD has commanded” (Ex. 36:1). Did you catch that?
Let’s break it down. God already had a plan, already had all the designs and intricacies of the entire project in His Heart – to the point of already having gifted the people who were to perform the tasks. This brings us back to the opening underlined statement: “according to his own ability.” The NIrV says it this way: “The man gave each servant the amount of money he knew the servant could take care of.” The Weymouth translation says: “each according to his individual capacity” (or, what each one was capable of – ML). In other words, the Master knows what each servant is equipped with and capable of taking care of. He’s not unjust to require a Chihuahua to perform the duties of a Pit Bull. I may stray from ‘political-correctness’ here, not to offend, but to illuminate a point that will help us all!
Alright, now we’ll make it plain. Paul, writing to the church at Corinth illustrates the church in this way: “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary” (1Co 12:12-22).
I’ll couple that thought with what Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus: “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Eph 4:15-16). He says a lot the same thing writing to the Colossian church: “holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God” (2:19). Are you seeing this? Every member of the Body of Christ has a deposit from God within them that contributes to one another’s success in life! That’s why God said through Paul “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself” (Rom 14:7).
Earlier in the same letter to the Roman church, Paul wrote: “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Rom 12:4-8). The language used here is much the same as the other instances of Scripture we’ve been looking at. The subject-matter has been that of the Body of Christ, and that each of us has ‘endowments’ deposited within them by God Himself to accomplish certain tasks in the progression of the Church we’ll call ‘life.’
[Brief illustrative testimony here:] I have known my entire life I was a drummer. Even as a child I knew it. I would bug my parents to get me a set of drums – that gift (endowment) was looking for expression! Then, after I had grown and gotten married, the writing ability was ‘pressing’ to come out. I thought about obtaining a word-processor (before the personal computer had gained its popularity). Prompted by God I obtained my first desktop computer (but only used it to write – I wrote my first book using it). – Now for the ugly side, yet, actually, the purpose of this teaching. Many times during a church service I would sit there and ‘confer within myself’: “I can preach like that, maybe even better. Lord, why aren’t I up there?” A few times the Lord has allowed for me to speak publically. But, in all reality, the message(s) just flow right out of me when I’m writing them!
The point of bringing that up is I wasn’t content with what the Lord had deposited within me; I wanted to be/do something else. – That, my friend, is an existence of great hopelessness, lacking peace, and (truth be told) it’s pride! Always reaching for something other than what we’ve been equipped for. If you’re a baby toe, be the best baby toe you can be! Don’t ask God to make you the next Billy Graham. He’s already had one! It’s alright to study after someone else [there’s a saying: if you want what somebody else has, you gotta do what they did to get it!] but, don’t lust after their position! If you are to be an evangelist, then be the best at it you can be! In other words, seek God, press into Him and allow Him to make you what He needs you to be in these last days!
There’s a lot of work that needs to be done; and God needs for each of us to take our place in the Body of Christ and excel at what He’s called us to do! “Don’t look at your neighbor, look at Me! Seek First My Kingdom.” – God.
That’s a great meditation on Matthew 25:14-15! And it also reminds me of 1 Timothy 6:6: “Godliness with Contentment is GREAT GAIN”