"His master
replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things;
I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s
happiness!’"
On the evening of the third day of passion week, our Lord Jesus Christ
was teaching his disciples on the Mount of Olives. One of the parables he shared with them
included this passage regarding a Master’s pleasure in the success of his servant. In
his book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim feels that Jesus
is preparing the disciples for what is expected.
Jesus is telling a story about a wealthy Master who is leaving all of
his possessions in the hands of his servants. He has distributed to each according to
their capability to manage the task. This Master could be viewed as Jesus himself. After
all, he knew what would soon be happening. For the Great Miracle to happen he would have
to make the ultimate sacrifice. He would have to give his life for ours. Was Jesus not
leaving his flock in the hands of the disciples? Indeed in our hands yet today!
What is Jesus’ lesson to the disciples? Was it not to only keep
the flock together but to multiply its size? Jesus doesn’t want us to be comfortable
in our nice church. He wants us to be stewards of his flock. He is challenging each of us
to use our talents as they are given to us to the best of our ability.
Last spring our church offered members an opportunity to discover what
their talents were. Groups met several different times and each of us prayed and searched
our souls for our talents to best serve God. He has given each of us special talents to
serve his flock. Some of the talents identified were those who could lead, teach,
administrate, and serve, just to mention a few. It is up to us to determine how we can
best serve God. It is our trusted responsibility to act on those talents so the Master
will be proud of us when he returns.
If you don’t know what your talents are do not distress. A
Reformation Saint, named after a town, uses her talents to help you search for yours. If
you don’t know who that is, ask me. I’ll introduce you.
