While We Are Waiting
There is an important dimension in the parables about the talents and the pounds that we must not miss. In Matthew 25 "the master" (vs. 19, NIV) went on an extensive journey and returned after a long time to settle the accounts with his servants. In Luke 19 we are told that the " 'man of noble birth' " (vs. 12, NIV) went to a distant country. While on his mission, He was made king and then "returned home" (vs. 15, NIV).
Jesus clearly referred to Himself. He wanted His disciples to know that He was going away and that it would take a while before He would come back. But when He returns He will ask for an account of what was done with what we have been given.
What should characterize our waiting for the second coming of Christ? Matt. 24:42-46. What do these verses mean for us in the practical sense of how we live?
While we wait, we live with a purpose. It is not a waiting in idleness but as dedicated disciples who are keen stewards over all we have been given. "We are to be vigilant, watching for the coming of the Son of man; and we must also be diligent; working as well as waiting is required; there must be a union of the two. This will balance the Christian character, making it well developed, symmetrical. We should not feel that we are to neglect everything else, and give ourselves up to meditation, study, or prayer; neither are we to be full of bustle and hurry and work, to the neglect of personal piety. Waiting and watching and working are to be blended. 'Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.' "—Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, p. 23.
We are waiting for the Owner of everything to return. Soon He will come and will want to know what we have done with our gifts, our time, our physical strength, and our material resources. The fact that He comes to inspect the results of our faithful stewardship should not in any way frighten us. The accusation of the servant who had buried his talent and refused to employ it usefully, that the master was a "hard man" who wanted to harvest where he had not sown, was totally false. Note that the servants who had been faithful stewards did not share this negative view. Every effort they had put into their stewardship assignment was fully worth it when they heard their master say, "Come and share your master's happiness" (Matt. 25:21, NIV). If Jesus came back next week, what do you think He would say to you regarding what you have done in the past week with the things He entrusted to you?
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