Our
indebtedness to God for our salvation and our entire dependence upon
Him should lead us to acknowledge Him as the giver of all our
blessings, and by our thanksgiving and praise offerings as well as
our financial offerings for the kingdom of God, we acknowledge this.
Of the bounties He has bestowed upon us, He requires that a portion
be returned to Him. By giving to the Lord what is due to His
kingdom, we declare and acknowledge to the whole world and to the
invisible kingdom of God on earth that all our material and spiritual
blessings and mercies are from Him, that all we possess belongs to
Him. Nothing is ours.
The
Lord has committed talents to us, that we may be better fitted to
honor and glorify Him. To some He has entrusted material wealth; to
others, special qualifications and talents for service to the kingdom
of God and to others, tact and influence. The Bible tells us that
some have five talents, others two, and others one (Matt. 25:15).
From the highest to the lowest each has been entrusted with some
gifts, or a gift, or talent. In fact, the Bible tells us that
everyone is given at least a talent or gift. No one has a zero
talent. These talents are not our own. They belong to God. He has
given them to us for conscientious use, and He will one day ask for
an account of how we have used the talents or talent bestowed upon
us.
The
great lesson we are daily to learn is that we are stewards (or
caretakers) of God’s gifts – stewards of money, of reason, of
intellect, of influence. In fact, everything we possess or have,
including our body. As stewards of the Lord’s gifts, we are to
trade or use these talents, though insignificant they may seem to us
(1 Peter 4:10).
However
insignificant may be our talent or spiritual gift, we are to or use
it in God’s service, for He has need for it, and the believers are
God’s instrument. If it is wisely used, we can bring to God one
soul who also will dedicate his or her talent to the Master’s
service. That soul may win other souls, which are the most
precious treasures for us in heaven and with our God, and
thus one talent, faithfully used, may gain many talents, and many
souls. In this way, we have fulfilled what the Scriptures said, “But
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt.
6:20-21 KJV). But the most precious gift we can
receive from our God is eternal life through our Lord
Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Romans 6:23).
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