Has God given each of us a task, or are the tasks that God has given to people limited to just a few of us? It is undoubtedly the case that God has given certain men and women special gifts for which we may thank Him, but that does not take away from the fact that every believer has a task. It is God who gives the tasks, and it is also He who has equipped us with the appropriate abilities to fulfill our tasks.
The parable of the talents
A well-known parable told by the Lord Jesus Himself makes this fact clear to us. Shortly before His suffering and death on the cross, the Lord Jesus compares Himself to a man who traveled to a far country and delivered His goods to His servants. The measure of what the Lord gave them varied according to the ability of the individual servants. One received five talents, another two, and the third received one talent. During their master’s absence, all three had the opportunity to trade with the possessions entrusted to them and to gain something extra. While the first and second servants fulfilled this responsibility, the third buried his talent. When the master returns, all three are called to account and receive what they have earned for their actions. The faithful servants receive a reward, while the wicked and lazy servant is cast into outer darkness.
It is not difficult for us to see a picture of the Lord Jesus in the man traveling to a far country, the master of the servants. He had come to His own, but His own did not receive Him. When He told the parable, He was about to accomplish the work on the cross and thus go through suffering to glory. He would not remain on this earth. Nor would He establish His kingdom in power and glory on this earth, but He would be a rejected Lord and would remain so for the time being. The work that He Himself had begun on this earth would now be entrusted to His servants during His absence. In the servants, we recognize a picture of those who confess the Lord Jesus. So that they can carry out their task, He gives them some of His possessions, “to each according to his own ability.”
Gifts – abilities – task
At this point, it is important to distinguish between gifts on the one hand and abilities on the other. God, the Creator, gives His creatures abilities. But the Lord gives His servants gifts and tasks. Both tasks and abilities are, therefore, not ours but are entrusted to us. It is up to us to use the abilities given to us by God to fulfill the tasks given to us by the Lord.
So, what is the task that the Lord gives us? In Matthew 24:45, He speaks of the wise and faithful servant who gives food to the servants at the proper time. And the servant whom He, at His coming, finds doing these things, He calls blessed. In our parable, we have servants who go, act, and gain. The “action” indicates that we go “out”, i.e., into this world, to work and bear witness for our Lord. The task of the servant who gives food to the servants points us to the work that needs to be done “inside.” There is work in and for the people of God, but there is also work “outside” among the people who do not yet know the Lord Jesus and are heading for eternal destruction. This is the task in the parable that is now before us, a task that we can all face.
So we are dealing with a Lord who has left this earth. He is rejected, and we share in His rejection. Firstly, He gives us, His servants, a clear mission, namely to pass on the message of the cross, but secondly, He also gives us the abilities to carry out this task.
The fulfillment of the task
In order to carry out this task, we first and foremost need the power and energy of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:8, the Lord encourages His disciples and tells them that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon them, and they will be witnesses to Him. The same power is also available to us. In addition to this power of the Spirit, God has also given us different abilities to fulfill this task. We have a head with a mind; we have hands and feet, eyes, ears, and a mouth. We can use all of this, one way or another. Not everyone is a born evangelist who is given to appear in public. Perhaps your strength lies in personal conversations with individuals. Perhaps you are particularly good with children, young people, or the elderly. Perhaps you have a special ability to help the socially weak or addicted. Or the Lord has given you a special ability to approach strangers, for example, to do book table work or distribute tracts. Perhaps you have a musical talent and can sing well, or you have special manual skills. Use the abilities given to you by your Creator to fulfill the great commission to pass on the message of the cross. In doing so, we must never think in terms of “templates” but rather be creative.
Lazy excuses don’t count here. We cannot excuse ourselves by saying that we only have a little strength, that the circumstances are unfavorable, that we have no talent, etc. We are well aware that it can take effort to confess the Lord at work, at school, in an environment that is opposed to God. There are also differences here. One person finds it easier to testify of the Lord Jesus than another. And yet the apostle Paul says: “For the love of Christ compels us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). No one can exempt themselves from this. Each one of us is addressed and called upon here. How many people around us are full of questions about the meaning of life and are looking for answers? If we Christians don’t give them these answers, who will? Satan only provides unsatisfactory substitute answers. Or how else can we explain the alarming increase in the number of Far Eastern sects and the growing tendency towards occultism and spiritualism? People are looking for answers. Despair, helplessness, depression, and resignation are spreading, and suicide rates are rising. The only ones who can give a truly satisfying answer are those who know the Lord Jesus as the One who alone can solve the question of the meaning of life.
A few more details from the Lord’s parable:
- The talents available to the servants to trade with are the talents of their master. They are His property and, therefore, entrusted to the servant. Our abilities are not of our own making but are given to us by Him. It follows that when we look at ourselves and then compare ourselves with others, we have no reason to imagine anything, nor should we develop inferiority complexes. The Lord has given us abilities in His own wisdom, and that is enough for us.
- The Lord gives His servants different degrees of talent. We all have the great commission, but our abilities are very different. We do not need to strive for what others have and can do but may rejoice in what the Lord has given us and use it for Him.
- Responsibility grows in line with what the Lord has entrusted to us. To whom much is given, from him, much will be required (Luke 12:48). Another person once said: “We will not be held accountable for what we have not been given, but for what the Lord has entrusted to us to work for Him.” The decisive factor is, therefore, not what measure the Lord has given me but whether I use what He has given me with zeal and faithfulness.
- The work is limited in time. The clock starts running from the moment the Lord gives the assignment. And the assignment ends when the Lord returns. Then it is no longer necessary, but also no longer possible, to work for Him and lead people to Him. Today belongs to us; we do not know what tomorrow will bring.
- The Lord gives wages for work done. There is no mention of the servants negotiating their wages with their master beforehand. So we, too, do our work not for the sake of wages but out of love for the Lord and out of conviction to work for Him. And yet we can rejoice in the thought that the Lord Jesus will reward every work for Him. We will enter into His joy, and then, when His kingdom is publicly established in power and glory, we will reign with Him.
The third servant
A final word about the third servant: he refused to work for his master, and he did so because he had a completely wrong image of him. He did not know his master properly at all and called him a hard man. His end is outer darkness. Are there not also many people today who have a confession and yet at the same time have completely wrong ideas about God? They are people without life from God. A profession of Christianity alone is of no use, nor is having believing parents or regularly attending Christian meetings. What counts is a genuine living connection to the Lord Jesus. From this living connection, we can be there for Him and act until He comes.
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