Saturday 11 Oct 2014

October 11: Matthew 25:14-30

Key Verse: Matthew 25:25
So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.

Devotion:
This story about the bags of gold is one that used to trouble me until I got out and started working for God with an open heart, then it sunk in and made much more sense than before. This man was obviously fairly well off and wanted his belongings to be looked after whilst he was away from home; being well off the belongings in this case were large amounts of gold. If we think of this in worldly terms we get all caught up in riches and greed and the story then seems to be about riches and greed. This is not what was meant.

When we then look at the story in terms of spiritual riches, even spiritual gifts and in terms of what Christ can give us, the story takes on a new meaning. We then start to see that Christ gives us charge of many things in our lives. These things still belong to God but we are set in charge of them until He returns. He does not want things to go to waste but rather to be used to increase the kingdom of God and not to let it rot.

Yes we could take the gift that Christ has given us and bury it in our hearts, keep it to ourselves, not show it off, keep it within our group of friends… and there it will continually diminish as people grow old and pass on! You see, God gives us these gifts and opportunities so that we can make the best use of them and not to keep them to ourselves. God wants us to take what he gives us and not to just share it with those around us but to use it to increase and grow the gift He gives into something even more special and even more effective.

And just like the first two men, we must take what we have been given and take a few risks for that increase to come. Playing it safe all the time means we get to keep what we have been given, but nothing more comes of it. When we step out of our comfort boxes and take a few risks, He gives us the increase and we come back with much more than we had in the beginning.

Points to Ponder:
Are you playing it safe?

Will you take a risk for God?