What You’ve Been Given

This parable today is one of the longest parables that we find in the gospel of Matthew. It is one of the three that Jesus gave to warn people of the suddenness of his coming. His coming can refer to an eschatological coming, at the end of the age, or our personal eschatology, if we meet him in the next hour. We don’t know the day or the hour of Christ coming back or when we will go to see him. There should be urgency either way!  

Matthew 25:14-30

This parable should prompt the question, “am I serving Christ with what He has given me?” This story is unique because it goes beyond simply watching and waiting for Jesus to return and focuses primarily on working until Jesus comes back or until our time is up on this earth. D. A. Carson has put it this way:

“It is not enough for Jesus’ followers to “hang in there” and wait for the end. They must see themselves as servants … who improve what their Master entrusts to them. Failure to do so proves they cannot really be valued as disciples at all.” (Carson, God with Us)

What has God entrusted to you

We all have something that God has entrusted to us. We have to understand something right out of the gate this morning, and that is that we are an extension of the Father’s hand to this world. Understand this today: you and I are the extension of God’s hand to a lost and a dying world. What have you chosen to do with that reality?

In order for us to feel the true weight of Jesus’ illustration in this parable, you and I have to realize that a talent was worth an entire year’s wages, quite possibly even a little more than that according to scholars. Jesus, truly, has given much to each and every one of us. No matter if we have received one talent or five, he has given us much. In being given much, we are stewards of Christ and his kingdom. This can’t be taken lightly! 

Stewardship is a large part of the kingdom of God. We talk about stewardship when it comes to our money, when it comes to our time, when it comes to our talents. God has given each and every one of us a piece of his kingdom to extend to the world he has placed around us. 

Some of us are in school right now and are surrounded by other students and teachers. Some of us have kids who we have been given the opportunity to invest into and disciple and lead towards Jesus. Some of us have spouses who we serve faithfully with the love of Christ. Many of us have neighbors and communities that we are a part of. Some share hobbies and clubs and social media spaces and people that work for us and businesses. The list goes on and on. 

Hear me clearly this morning: These are not yours! Your house is not yours. Your job and position is not yours. Your business is not yours. Your kids are not yours. Your spouse is not yours. Your money is not yours. Your entire life, every single thing, every aspect of it is a gift from God. When you breathe in this sanctuary while you listen to this message, when your heart beats and your blood pumps and keeps you alive, these are all gifts from God. 

What have you done with them? We all beg to hear the words that Jesus says to the first two servants: well done. How many of us in this room would give anything for Jesus to say to us at the end of all days, “well done good and faithful servant, come and share in your master’s happiness.” 

There is not a single phrase worth hearing more from any other person than this. But that only comes to those who are busy at work for the kingdom. God has entrusted something to each and every one of us, there must be a response to this. 

Laziness leads to emptiness

This is true for this life AND the life to come! It is certainly true that we receive eternal life by faith and through grace alone. But the works that follow confirm that that faith is genuine. The fruit determines the root. There are no lazy servants in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is filled with people busy at work, laboring for the God that they love. What are we laboring for? Kingdom things. God’s things. 

What did the first two servants do with their talents? Produced something. They produced while the master was away. Now, who is this master who is away? It is Jesus of course. He is away but his return is imminent. He is coming soon! As I mentioned before, it is good to have a personal eschatology and an end of the age eschatology. He is coming soon for the world, yes, but it might be sooner even for you. No day is guaranteed to us. We don’t know when the master is coming back! So when he does… What will you be found doing? 

Laziness takes all kinds of forms. It might be sin, living like the world and in the world. This form of laziness is what we would call spiritual apathy. The things of God pale in comparison to the offerings of the world. Instead of being busy in the kingdom we are busy in our sin. We are serving the lusts of our flesh and the kingdom of our own selfishness. I don’t know a single soul who is happy in this scenario. You aren’t free, you are a slave to sin.

Or it might be in kingdom laziness. Someone that is not doing the work of the kingdom. They aren’t compelled to reach lost people, they aren’t concerned with the needs of others, serving, or helping disciple people. They are solely focused on earthly things. Their energy, their motivation, their passion and their purpose is found in everything but God. Colossians 3:2, “set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”

Setting your mind on earthly things leads to emptiness in this life, because nobody who served themselves ever felt full and complete. And it leads to emptiness in the next life because Jesus is very clear here that lazy servants are not granted into the kingdom of heaven. I know this may be a harsh word to you but can I remind you that these are the words of Jesus! Get busy he says! Not out of fear, but out of love. Which leads to my last thought this morning:

How you see your master

Let’s focus on the servant that did nothing with what God had given him. We need to take note here, he was given something. Each servant in this story had something placed in their hand by God, but each outcome was different. 

Let’s look at the text, what was the man’s reason for his inaction? Verse 24, “I know you to be a difficult man.” Don’t miss this, I think this is so important: the man had no joy in his service, no intimacy with the master. To him, the master was a hard man that demanded results. 

How do you look at God? Are your attempts to serve God just an attempt to “earn your keep”? Is it your path to heaven, or trying to make him happy? Or is it with joy and with affection for the master and his kingdom that you joyfully and willingly serve his kingdom? Many of us have a false view of God, one that is driven by the demands of following Jesus, instead of the joys of following him. 

This man was entrusted with a gift, a piece of the kingdom. And how was his heart? So often our motivations for the kingdom of God are to earn our keep, or even, for our own motivations. We can serve to be seen, or to be complimented by others. We might serve in the kingdom so that we can earn the praise and approval of others or to serve another purpose. 

The bottom line is this: how do you view the master that you serve? Are you busy at work to earn your way into the kingdom and appease this angry God in heaven? Are you lazy in the call on your life because you truly don’t revere or understand the expectations of the kingdom and think it doesn’t apply to you? Or are you in a deep, loving relationship that compels you to care about what God cares about? 

This man hated his master. He was afraid of him and believed the worst about him. It all led to him responding poorly and ultimately being removed from the master all together. God loves you. Every talent he has given you is a gift from him. He trusts you, and he has empowered you to be a part of this. Relish that opportunity. Step into your destiny. Be the person God has called you to be. 

Conclusion

“Your life is an occasion, rise to it.” We all have been given something. What are you doing with what God has given you? It is a serious thing to consider this morning. It is serious because of the time that is ticking, for both you personally and for the coming of Christ again. 

You get one life, one vapor as the Bible would describe its length, how are you going to spend it? Self preservation with a pursuit of comfort and worldly things? How is the master going to respond to that at the end of your life? Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6 to store up your treasures in heaven, where it cannot be destroyed. 

Are you lazy today? Because if you don’t see the amazing gift and moment that this life is. There is a greater purpose for you. Greater than your earthly goals, your bad habits, your time wasting activities and foolish errands… it is the kingdom of God. It is the greatest invitation that you and I have ever been given. 

Do you see the kindness of the master? Do you know your role and see your potential in Christ? If you don’t, I beg you to wake up. Wake up right now, wake up today before it’s too late. Before the master returns. Our journey goes by too quickly for us to miss the mission and true purpose of this life. It is the kingdom of God, it is his work in our lives, and it is our response to what has been given.