Matthew 25:14-30
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 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. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 18:19-20
When Two or More Are Gathered -His is There
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Matthew 5:13-16
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
John 14:6
Jesus is the Truth
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
We learn a lot from Jesus' Parables...In this parable of the talents, we know that the wicked, lazy servant did not waste, steal, do something illegal (with the talent), or lose the money that Jesus gave Him...But, more importantly, we also know the servant did not use it...He wants us to use the things He gives us (and although we sometimes think we work hard and earn things -all things are made and come through Him)...
Jesus has been gone for a very long time...It has been around two thousand years...He does not expect us to remain idle, while He is gone...He wants us to seek His Father, as well as to read the gospels and learn about Him...He has given us the great gift of the gospel...We are to use it...Faith is not to be static or remain stationary, or be put away...He may be telling us, if we to not study these things, the great gifts He taught, we will lose out, they will atrophy and weaken and just go away -the great gift He gave us is to be spread and increased...And faith sometimes, if not most of the time, can be strengthened in and by numbers...The talents He gave us are to be used -not only for ourselves but for others...The talents He gives us are not to be hidden in the ground or put underneath a bowl, because that would hide the Light of the World...
He wants us to study Him, read about Him, and talk about Him, and gather together in numbers...He wants His disciples to be the salt of the earth...He wants His disciples worthy and helpful to others...If two or more are gathered in His name, there He will be...And yet, He knows that when two are more are gathered and talking about Him, they will not agree on everything about Him...He wants, it seems to me, to discuss and challenge the things that were written about Him, with each other -to grow our faith...To increase our faith, we sometimes need to be challenged by others...We need to think about Him from different angles, because He is from above, and we are from below...By gathering together we can help others, and each other with our own individual faith and beliefs in Him...
He wants our faith to grow...He wants our faith to increase...But even though He wants to be challenged, there is only and can only be One Truth...He is that One Truth, the One Way to His Father, the very meaning of Life...