God has implanted within us an Original
Goodness that, when spiritually nurtured, beings forth spiritual completeness,
peace, and joy. It is our
task to bring out the talents within us, and use them in a Godly manner.
Jesus (Matthew
25:14-30) alludes to this work God has for us to do in the Parable
of The Talents (a "Talent" being a description for a sum of
money in his time. It is also where we get our word talent, meaning an ability
we possess.)
When a group of men were given
money, one buried it, two others invested it. Those who used their money for
good were praised. The one who hid their money and did nothing with it was
condemned for not using the gifts he was given.
We, too, must use wisely the gifts
we are given.
And while all of us are flawed, and
imperfect, we cannot hide behind this as an excuse for inaction.
All
our gifts and abilities come from God. We ought never downplay, degrade or
disparage those abilities by saying that they are not good
enough to do what God asks us to do. Nor must we pray to God, telling Him that
it is HIS job to do the Good Works He calls on US to do.
By asserting that we are somehow
unable and ill-equipped to perform them, we take an ungrateful attitude to our
Creator's ears. And we must never do that.
God, therefore, doesn't exist to do
these things for us. Instead, He gave us the ability to act and do Good on His
behalf, and the ability
thru Jesus' teachings to know what is Good and Right.
Jesus, the Spokesman of God, and our
Example and Template in all things, asks us to use our God-given gifts to act
in the service to others.
Jesus preached a Gospel of doing
Good Works of Righteousness in humility, seeking to establish God's Kingdom
here and now, upon this earth.
Jesus
calls on us to love God with every fiber of our Being, to deny ourselves, put
others first, and love our neighbors just as we love ourselves.
Our
Teacher and Master, Jesus, challenges us to become spiritually complete by
actively seeking and doing Righteousness.
THAT is the Gospel Jesus preached,
and he challenges us today to take on his Gospel of Good Works, service,
and love of others.
And we are well equipped to do this,
because this man, Jesus, said that we have the ability to do all the he did.
And in all that he did, he pleased God.
Our hope doesn't rest in the idea
that God is going to do things to make us materially successful. It rests in
the knowledge that God
gave us the ability to succeed, spiritually, whether we successful or not in
our current material endeavors.
What a great hope and comfort that
is!
We
ought to be grateful for the abilities God has given us, and while thanking God for them, ask Him to continue
granting us the spiritual strength, comfort, and, encouragement that will
sustain us thru our lifelong journey.
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