Parable Number 4: Working While Waiting and Watching
For it will be like a man going on a journey; who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. Matt. 25:14-19, ESV.
The parable of the talents, in common with the three preceding parables, continues to emphasize being ready for the Master's return. But it begins to answer a question previously not addressed: what is readiness?
The story line is quite simple. A man (Christ) goes away and gives each of his servants talents (large amounts of money). The first two put their talents to work and increase their master's investment, while the third merely buries his in the ground for safekeeping.
But the master desires more than security from his investment. He expects the servant to use the talents to make a profit. That becomes evident when "after a long time" he returns for an accounting to determine the faithfulness of his servants in his absence. In the judgment scene that follows, he rewards the two servants who have been faithful, but he punishes the one who has done nothing (Matt. 25:24-30).
The lesson is clear. Readiness for the return of Christ does not mean passively waiting for the event. Rather, readiness is responsible activity that produces results that the Master can see and approve of.
We can also learn from this parable that God does not expect the same results from everybody. Christians have varying levels of ability. But it is not the amount of a person's ability that He evaluates in the judgment, but whether he or she has employed the full range of abilities that God has given him.
Another lesson from the parable is that the Lord rewards faithful people with even greater responsibility rather than with a pension. Greatness based on service (see Matt. 20:26-28) will continue in the age to come. It is an eternal principle of the kingdom of heaven. The book Education captures the concept nicely when it notes that true education "prepares the student for the joy of service in this world and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come" (p. 13).
For it will be like a man going on a journey; who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. Matt. 25:14-19, ESV.
The parable of the talents, in common with the three preceding parables, continues to emphasize being ready for the Master's return. But it begins to answer a question previously not addressed: what is readiness?
The story line is quite simple. A man (Christ) goes away and gives each of his servants talents (large amounts of money). The first two put their talents to work and increase their master's investment, while the third merely buries his in the ground for safekeeping.
But the master desires more than security from his investment. He expects the servant to use the talents to make a profit. That becomes evident when "after a long time" he returns for an accounting to determine the faithfulness of his servants in his absence. In the judgment scene that follows, he rewards the two servants who have been faithful, but he punishes the one who has done nothing (Matt. 25:24-30).
The lesson is clear. Readiness for the return of Christ does not mean passively waiting for the event. Rather, readiness is responsible activity that produces results that the Master can see and approve of.
We can also learn from this parable that God does not expect the same results from everybody. Christians have varying levels of ability. But it is not the amount of a person's ability that He evaluates in the judgment, but whether he or she has employed the full range of abilities that God has given him.
Another lesson from the parable is that the Lord rewards faithful people with even greater responsibility rather than with a pension. Greatness based on service (see Matt. 20:26-28) will continue in the age to come. It is an eternal principle of the kingdom of heaven. The book Education captures the concept nicely when it notes that true education "prepares the student for the joy of service in this world and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come" (p. 13).
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