Make the Most of It

By: Marissa Nederhouser
Read. Matt 25
Scripture Selected:
Matt 25: 14-29.
The Parable of the Bags of Gold 14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag 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 five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. 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 two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; 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 one bag of gold 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 gold 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 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Observation:
It didn’t matter how many bags the servants were given when the master was rewarding them, it mattered that they did the most with what they were given while the master was away. When they were busy and fruitful, he was most pleased, and when they did nothing, i.e. buried their bag (and head) in the ground, he was most displeased.
Application:
In this time of COVID19, most of us feel trapped or, at least, extremely restricted with what we can do daily. But my heart is gladdened when I look on Facebook and seeing all of these friends that don’t usually cook “attempting” to bake bread, people are sewing and crocheting, people are having mini dance parties with their kids, and all other kinds of things that in “normal” life we just don’t find the time or inclination to do. So there definitely is a silver lining to the pandemic if we just embrace the fact that we are blessed with this time and use the time wisely.
Prayer:
Lord, please heal those who are suffering from this virus now, protect those who still have their health, and thank you for the time each of us has on this planet. We thank you for all of the gifts and abilities we didn’t even realize that we had before this period, and help us to make the most of it.