An interesting thing about this parable:
Luke tells us WHY Jesus told this parable at this time.
Verse 11: because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.
What does this imply? If it's not "at once," then it will require waiting...
We see this element of waiting in the parable, too.
The prince goes away for a period of time. He gives sums of money to his servants and said, "WHILE YOU WAIT for me to come back, put what I've given you to work."
When the prince returns as King, we see that there is great reward for having invested the money well... co-reigning with the king over specific cities.
However, one servant didn't invest the King's money at all. He hid it away.
Why?
He had a false view of the King's character.
Of course, we are in the era of time where we are awaiting Jesus' return.
Everything we have, He gave to us.
You're a missionary, so you're already doing this...
You're investing your time and energy...
Your gift of teaching...
Your passion for evangelism...
Your creativity...
Your maintenance skills...
Now, I want you to guess what it is...
Got your guess in your mind?