God gives to everyone according to his or her ability III
Greeting to you, dear friends, on this wonderful day that our Heavenly Father has made!
God has created us in His image and likeness, and He made us to be His children and He has separated us for Himself. God brought us into His wonderful light, into His Kingdom – through Jesus Christ! God has created us in Christ Jesus for good works, which He has ordained for us to do! This alone is enough to give us a reason to be grateful to God. None of us deserve all these benefits, but God – because of His great love for us – has done all of these things for us in Jesus Christ. And God gave every one of us gifts and talents, so that we could expand His Kingdom and serve Him with our talents. God promises to bless us abundantly as we work and serve in His Kingdom.
«So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, “Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.” His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord» (Matthew, 25:20-21).
God expects to find in us a good and faithful heart. We need to be faithful in little things. We do not need to think about what we do not have. We do not need to think about what we cannot do. We do not need to think about those things God has not given us. God is not a cruel God; He will not ask you to give an account for the things He has not given you. God will not demand you to do for Him those things you are not able to do. Do what you know to do.
What we have in our hands does not only determine our situation in the future, but also our situation today. Success, wellbeing, satisfaction will depend on how able you are to develop your talents and gifts. Whether you are in great demand or not will depend on the level of your skill. If you cannot really do anything, then nobody will place a demand on you. In order to be in demand, people study, get themselves qualified; they acquire a certain specialty and develop their skill in the area of their specialization. Not so long ago we talked about Jacob’s road to prosperity. When he was ready to return to his homeland, Laban begged him to stay, because Jacob had developed his gifts and talents to the point where he was in high demand everywhere he went.
You have certain talents. What are you doing with them? Are you developing those talents?
When you develop your talents, it gives you the capability to set high goals and actually reach them. When you develop your talents, you move forward. You might not have a job at the moment, but what an opportunity for self-development! You can use this time to learn new things and grow. It is possible that this time was given to you so you could learn and obtain new skills. It might be a time of advancement in what you have been doing before or acquiring a totally new area of skill. You have been given a talent that fits your abilities. The man who continually engages in self-development will be in more demand and will be entrusted with much more than those who do nothing to develop themselves. The one who multiplies his talent will receive more than what he had originally.
«For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away» (Matthew, 25:29).
The one who is faithful in little things will receive more! The one who is not faithful in little things will lose what he has. How does this parable relate to the Kingdom of God?
Everything God has given us is meant to be used for the building of God’s Kingdom. We cannot forget that we are in the Kingdom in such a time as this. In other time periods there were other people. Today it is our time to build the Kingdom and work; this is our opportunity to use what we have been given by God.
Make a decision that you won’t be barren in the Kingdom of God. You are a person who has been gifted by God. Do something great for God using your talent. Continually develop your talent and you will see that God will give you more.
God is always with you! You can always turn to Him for help, because He is our Father and He is alive!
Till tomorrow!
Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
