Stage 3: Tuesday

Jesus spent all day Tuesday teaching a crowd of people. From the time the sun went up until the time the sun went down, Jesus taught. This was His last day to share about the Kingdom of God publicly before He was crucified. What He shares on this day is of first importance to Him. He spends the day talking about His return. Jesus knows He is going to die for our sins and rise again from the dead, but He also knows that He is going to ascend to the right hand of God and that years will pass before He comes back again. We call this the second coming of Jesus. In Matthew 24, He shares with us what the world will be like when He returns.

“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. At that time, many will tum away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:4-14

And then, to emphasize His point, Jesus told the following story:

“Again, it will be like a Man going on a journey, who called His servants and entrusted His property to them. 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.” Matthew 25:14-15

The Master of the story is Jesus, and He is trying to share that He is going away, so He calls His servants together and entrusts to them a certain amount of money that they are supposed to use wisely. The amount that the Master has entrusted to His servants is an unbelievable amount of money. Each talent represented 15 years of a worker's wage. What the Master is trying to tell His servants is you have been given the chance of a lifetime. The question is: what are they going to do with that chance?

I guess the same question can be asked of us. God has entrusted resources and abilities to each of us. What are we going to do with it? Are we going to use it wisely, or are we going to squander this amazing opportunity to build the Kingdom of God and be used by God in a way we never thought was possible?

A survey was given to people who were 95 years or older about what they would do differently if they could live their lives over again. The top three responses were this:

1. They said they would reflect more. They would stop and examine the direction and meaning of their lives. They would make sure that they were giving their time, talent, money, and energy to something that was worthwhile.
2. They said they would risk more. They would be more courageous and step outside of their comfort zones. They would take risks in order to raise their accomplishment level and make life more interesting.
3. They would give their life to that which would outlive them. They would give less attention to that which was here today and gone tomorrow, and they would throw themselves into that which would go beyond their life here on earth.

None of us want to get to the end of our life with the same regrets. Each servant has a choice. Jesus says the man who has been given 5 talents "went off at once." He didn't waste a single second. He got after the business of his Master, and so did the man who received two talents. What do you bet they had the time of their lives? What do you bet there was never a time they felt more alive than when they were investing their life in the things the Master would invest His life in?

This causes us to pause and ask ourselves a very serious question. What are we investing our lives in? Are we consumed with a kingdom that will not last, or are we leveraging all we have and all we hope to be in reaching people for Jesus, in helping people who are hurting, in coming alongside people who desperately need a helping hand of friendship?

Are we leveraging our talent, our time, and our monies for something that matters in Heaven’s eyes, or are we just living for the here and now?

That is what happened to the man who was entrusted with one talent. Jesus says that man did nothing of significance with his one shot. He blew it. He could have leveraged what he had been given for something bigger than himself, but he played it safe.

The twist in the story is when the Master comes back and examines how each servant invested in what he had been given. The man who had been given 5 talents had made 5 more talents, and the man with 2 talents had produced 2 more, and the Master commended them for their faithfulness. The third servant did nothing with what had been given him, and the Master was upset.

Why does the Master get upset? It is because our life matters to God. What we do with what we have been given is of supreme importance. We only have one life to live. God has given each of us a life that we are to use to glorify Him in everything we say and do. Our job is to do something with our lives that matters, that lasts. Our job is to figure out what we can do to better the world, better our church, better our families, and advance the Kingdom of God.

Let’s pray, “Dear God, help us to not waste our one shot at life on that which does not last. Help us to use our life to advance your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.”