Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Prophet Isaiah said, ‘Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not be faint.’(Isaiah 40:31) How can we ‘wait on the Lord’? In the Gospel of Matthew we read a parable which teaches us how to wait on the Lord. Matthew 25:14-30 … The Parable of the Talents.
In this parable, we read of a man going on a journey after entrusting his property to his servants. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received 5 talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So did the man with the 2 talents. He gained 2 more. But the man who received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts. It will be the same when our Lord comes back to settle accounts with us one day. He has given us authority and talents according to our ability to work in His kingdom, make disciples, baptise them and teach them to obey everything He has commanded. He is giving us enough time before He returns to settle accounts with us. How are we going about our Master’s work?
Are we working like the first two servants? Working and gaining more? Or are we like the third one who dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s talent of money? Our Master knows each of us better than we know ourselves and so He has entrusted each of us with talents according to our ability. He gives more talents to those who have more ability. He is not a hard Master. He is giving us ample time to put our talents to work and to gain more so that no one can complain that He harvests where He has not sown and gathers where He has not scattered seeds.
Our Master expects those who have very little talents to invest their talent with someone in such a way that the talent will not be kept hidden in the ground in an unproductive way. Our Master expects us to be faithful with the few talents that He has entrusted us with, so that He can put us in charge of more. He wants us to join Him and share in His happiness when He returns. When the Master settles our accounts, if we are found without any gain, He will take the talents He had given us and give it to him who worked hard so that he will have even more. And we will be thrown into darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So as we wait on the Lord for His return, let us not while away the time and our talents as the wicked, lazy servant did but let us put our talents to work so as to be called ‘good and faithful servants’.
As we go about the routines of our everyday life, we should be filled with the hope that God will consummate His rule in His time. He will deal with evil. Such an inner attitude gives us the strength to mount up above the moment with vigour and to go on. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Hebrews 9:28b) As we wait on the Lord, He fills us with courage and strengthens our heart to live a victorious life, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We are again and again exhorted to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. Through the ages men of God have like the Psalmist said, “I, wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I do hope”. (Psalm 130:5)
Prophet Isaiah said, ‘Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not be faint.’(Isa 40:31) Who among us does not want to renew our strength? Who does not want to mount up with wings like eagles? Who does not want to run and not be weary? Who does not want to walk and not be faint? These privileges are for all who wait on the Lord!
Wish you a blessed 2017!!
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