Wednesday, February 26, 2026

Matthew 25:14-34

We read today from Matthew 25:14-34. Read the passage now or at the end of this devotion. What can we learn today about the unique abilities that Christ generously gives to us?

Close your eyes, breathe deeply (expand your stomach, not your chest as you breathe), and for 60 seconds, remain before God in a posture of gratitude. Say “thank you” again and again. Allow your mind to wander into the places where God has shown you his blessing and give him thanks. Close that moment by taking and holding a slow deep breath, hold it, and slowly let it out.

Let me confess for a moment about some groups of people that when I consider them, I can commit the sin of covetousness.

I see people who are good with their hands and with tools and I want what they have. I’d love to make kitchen cabinets that fit perfectly and would increase the efficiency of our kitchen. I would give a lot of money to be able to fix up an old car (there’s a 1969 TR6 for sale down the street) and bring it back to its old glory with my own hands. I would be jazzed if I knew how to re-duct my house and install a new air conditioner. I see someone who can “line up the dimes” with a welder and I think, “that person is a magician!”

I could go on to speak of wood carvers, leather workers, boat-makers, and others, but you get the point. I would love to do what I can’t do. I might be able to learn the basics of a craft, but I will never be an artisan in any of those fields. Drat!

And that “drat!” is where I put myself at risk.

As we read again the parable of the Bags of Gold, we hear that the master gave bags to the servants, “each according to his ability.” The one who received five was ready to receive five and the master knew it. The lazy servant should only receive one and even that, he was not ready for. That master was intentional and knew his servants well to give to them what was fitting for their capacity.

Servant 2 could have said, “Hey! Why did he receive 5? Why do I only have 2? I’m not chopped liver you know!” He could have said, “I don’t want the responsibility of this much! Give me one bag. There is less risk involved.” Instead, he chooses to be faithful with what he was given.

His success is not just in his own faithfulness but in the wisdom of his master giving to him exactly what he was ready and prepared to be faithful with. The 5 bags would have overwhelmed him, and the one bag would have left unfulfilled potential. His “two-bag” responsibility was just right.

I can fix a cabinet door hinge that is loose or needs to be replaced, but I should never make my own cabinets. I can change a battery in my car (maybe…if I have the right tools, lighting, and the battery is in the right place) but that TR6 needs someone else to bring it back to life. I know a company that can look at my HVAC system, and I need to let them be the ones who crawl in my attic space. I need to let others be faithful with their bags of gold.

Then I can focus on being faithful with mine. And that is just as our Savior intends it.

We might look at others and wonder if their bags are our bags. Perhaps with that thought, God is calling us to discover and develop a new ability that he wants us to grow. But often, we try to get ahead of his intentions for us. For our own reasons, we want what is not ours. We want gold we have not been given, and in that pursuit, we end up squandering what we already have. Life can change and new abilities can grow, but that is at the Lord’s leading. He will open that door in his time and in his way.

Until then, ours is to anticipate the Master’s return. Our bags of gold are before us and within us. The world is ripe, waiting for the investment of what we have to offer.

May the Spirit equip us all to multiply what we have already been given.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his smile towards you and give you his peace.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

I love you all. Blessings.

Feel free to share this devotion with others.

Some questions out of today’s text and teaching.

What abilities are in “your bag of gold”? Are there other abilities that you wish that you’d been given? Is the Lord calling you to explore those abilities? Is he calling you to be content and faithful with what you have already been given?

To contact the author, please email: elgersma@therivercrc.com