Lost Everything, Chicago, IL
By the grace
of God, we’ve all been given certain gifts in this life to use as we are so
motivated. These gifts are as far
reaching as the diversity of the human race.
I would challenge anyone who claims that they have no special
gifts. All it takes is the time to stop
the merry-go-round and meditate on our abilities and the activities that we
enjoy in life.
The parables
that Jesus related to the people and his disciples always had a deeper meaning
than the story that unfolded in the telling.
On the surface, his parable of a man who was going on a journey seemed
to be routine enough. He called three of
his servants together and gave the first a total of five talents (an ironic
term for money), the second received two talents and the last was given one talent,
each according to his abilities. These
talents represent any gifts or resources we have received in life that we can
use to enhance the lives of others less fortunate. The first two men doubled their money while
the last one literally buried his talent.
The master rewarded the first two men with more responsibility and they
shared in his celebration, but the third who did nothing was ordered to give it
to the one that now had ten talents and he was dismissed.
All of these
men had the opportunity and free will to use their abilities responsibly, but only
two of them used their resources to improve the state of the enterprise. That analogy also applies to using our
individual free will and talents to improve the lives of those within our
sphere of influence, either directly or through charitable organizations we trust. I’ve read that if all the volunteer time and
resources donated by individuals in this country were abdicated to the
government, it would be overwhelmed.
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