Jesus comes : work !

"For as a man went out of the land, summoned his own slaves, and entrusted them with his possessions : to one he gave five talents ; To another, two ; To another, one ; To each according to his own ability. Then he went out of the country ... Long after, the master of these slaves comes and makes his accounts with them." Matthew 25,14,15,19

In the parable of the virgins of which we spoke yesterday, the young girls had only one function according to the Eastern custom of the time: to escort the husband to the place of the feast at a marriage. But he is slow to introduce himself, and rather than watch, they all fall asleep. The Lord immediately connects with the parable of that day to make us understand that to watch is not to remain idle.

A man is about to leave for a trip abroad. He is a rich man: he counts his ingots in talents (a talent equivalent to the wages of a workman over 20 years of work !). He entrusts them to each of his servants to make them worth while during his absence. Two of his servants take advantage of what has been entrusted to them and acquire once as much. The third buries his ingot in the earth, where it remains intact, sheltered from glances and covetousness, but yields nothing.

The first two servants represent believers who wish to serve the Lord. The third pretends to be loyal, but he prefers to take care of his own affairs.

The Lord desires that we should be good stewards of the immense goods which He entrusts to us : natural faculties, spiritual gifts, material goods, & c. We will be accountable to him.

The Master returns suddenly after a long absence. Arrive the time of the accounts. Each servant receives his reward according to his own labor (1 Cor. 3: 8), not according to the financial results. One gained more than the other in absolute value, but each doubled the capital entrusted. These two servants receive the same praise : "Good, good and faithful slave ; Thou hast been faithful in what is little, I will set thee over many: enter into the joy of thy master" (Matthew 25:21, 23).

Let us note that joy is as much a part of the reward of faithful servants as the extension of their sphere of responsibility. All that we possess belongs to the Lord. Manage his possessions with intelligence and diligence, the Lord counts on us !

Source (To pleasing the Lord)