Lesson 225 - Junior

Memory Verse

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things" ([MAT:25:21]).

Notes

Talents Distributed

Among the parables Jesus told His disciples was one about a rich man who planned a trip into another country, leaving his home and business in the care of his servants. He felt that he had hired men whom he could trust, so he called them together just before he started his journey and gave them each large sums of money with which to do business while he was away.

To the first he gave five talents, and asked him to use the money in such a way that he would make a profit. To the second servant he gave only two talents. This servant did not have as much ability as the first, and would not be able to handle any more than the two. To the third servant he gave only one talent, according to his ability.

The Accounting

After a long time (it must have been years) the master returned. He called his servants and asked them to show him what they had gained in the business they had carried on during his absence.

The first servant brought ten talents -- twice as many as he had been given. The master was very much pleased. That was the kind of servant he admired. He said to the faithful man: "Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." He gave him even more than the servant had brought to him.

Think how happy the servant must have been! He had the satisfaction of knowing that he had done his work well -- and now this great reward besides! He had proved himself a good businessman, and he was now given the opportunity of ruling with his lord.

When the other servants saw this reward they perhaps wished that they might have had five talents to work with, too; but let us see what the master said to the servant who had been given only two talents. Those two talents had gained other two, under the able supervision of the second servant. The master said the very same thing to him that he had said to the first: "Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." He understood that this servant did not have as much natural ability as the first one, but his faithfulness was being rewarded. The second servant was going to be a ruler, too. It might be that he would rule over only five cities, while the first servant ruled over ten ([LUK:19:17-19]) but that was as many as he could handle, and he was happy with his reward.

Condemned

What about the man who had only one talent? His lord had not expected him to gain ten talents, but he had expected double of what he had given. However, the servant had been slothful and had done no business for the master. The talent had lain buried in the earth where no one could see it all through the years it should have been used.

We could not expect the master to be pleased with such a servant. The servant knew he had done wrong; but he immediately began to blame his lord as though it were his fault that the talent had been buried. How often people blame someone else for their own faults! Even if the master had been a "hard man," as the servant said, that still would not have excused the servant from faithful service.

Listen to what the master said to this servant: "Thou wicked and slothful servant." His sin was of neglect. It was not wicked deeds that brought the condemnation, but the neglect of good deeds he should have done. This poor servant was cast into outer darkness, where there was "weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Jesus said at another time that people would come to Him in the judgment and would cry, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" And He will answer them, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" ([MAT:7:22-23]). Such people will think that they are welcome in Heaven because they have done good deeds; but Jesus said that they must first be saved from their sins before their works would count for a heavenly reward.

If those people who have done good works in the name of Jesus will be condemned because they are not saved, what chance would a person like the servant with one talent have in the judgment? He did not even have works to offer his lord.

Giving to Jesus

It has been said that we may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving. In other words, you may sometimes give gifts from a sense of duty to someone you do not particularly care about. But if you really love someone, you will naturally want to give him as much as you can. If we truly love Jesus with all our hearts, we are naturally giving Him the very best we have.

What can we give to Jesus? First, we give Him our love. Then we give Him service. One service is prayer. We must be careful to start every day with prayer. We pray for the salvation of lost souls and the healing of sick bodies. We pray for blessings on our meetings. We close each day with a prayer of thanksgiving for God's guidance and protection through the day.

Another service is testimony. We will not be ashamed to let people know that we are Christians. We want them to know about the love of Jesus to us, and how happy we are to be His children. Perhaps some children you play with may never have heard about Jesus. Your service will be to invite them to Sunday School and tell them that Jesus loves them and wants to make them good so they can live with Him in Heaven forever.

Inward Works

All those works are outward. We also have inward works to do. In order to make our outward works pleasing in the sight of God we must add to our Christian graces: "Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins" ([2PE:1:5-9]).

Our Talents

The first servant was given five talents. Let us compare that with a Christian life. One person may be gifted with five talents with which he can serve the Lord. Let us say that he is a minister who can preach well. That is one talent. He can sing; he has a pleasing personality, which makes many people happy; he is a good businessman; and he is physically strong so he can help those who need help. When he uses those talents faithfully for Jesus, they grow even greater. But he must use them all in order to hear the Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things." He has to work hard for his reward.

Another person may have only two talents. Let us say that he loves to visit the sick and needy, and they are cheered by his words of encouragement to them. He can also sing beautifully, and he uses his two talents together. There are always many poor and suffering people, so there is plenty that he can do; but he must be faithful in what he is doing if he wants to hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant... I will make thee ruler over many things."

We may think we are very busy here working for the Lord, and when He comes our work will be done. But from this parable it seems that our service here is only preparing us for greater things in the land beyond. May we work diligently so that the Lord will be able to use us through all eternity in the land He has prepared for those who love Him!

Our Responsibility

God has given to all of us talents, which He expects us to use. We shall have to give an account not only for what we have but also for what we might have. If we use what God has given us we shall receive more, and God is going to require the greater service from us. We cannot fold our hands and say we are satisfied with what we have, that we do not care for a great reward; nor can we plead that we are unworthy to do mighty things for the Lord. If He has given us talents, which we are not using for the Lord, we are going to find ourselves slothful servants when He calls us to an accounting.

All these servants expected their lord to return. They knew he would ask about the talents they had received from him. And yet the slothful servant dared to bury his talent in the ground and never use it.

Many people today are looking for the Lord to come again, and they think they are ready. They may have been saved, but they did not add to their faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge and the other Christian graces; so the light they had became darkness. The Apostle wrote, "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from ad sin" ([1JN:1:7]). But we must walk in the light or it will become darkness and we shall find ourselves back in sin.

So we learn that in order to receive the commendation, "Well done, good and faithful servant," we must be faithful in every thing the Lord shows us to do; and do with a willing heart that which is given us to do.

Questions

1. How many talents were the servants given?
2. What were they to do with the talents?
3. What was the reward of the first servant? the second?
4. What did the third servant do with his talent?
5. What was his reward?
6. What in our lives can we call talents?
7. Where do we get our talents?
8. How can we gain more talents?
9. What is our work here preparing us for?
10. How are our works going to be judged?