A Talent Unused

Gospel: Matthew 25: 14-30

Everyone has had the experience of seeing a promising young person not achieve their potential and squander a great talent they had been given.  We are sad at such a loss for them and for those who may have benefited from that talent.  By the same token, there is great joy when we see a promising young person achieve their potential, cultivate a talent, and derive great benefit for themselves and others.  

Not all of us have the same talents and abilities in arts or sciences, music or language skills.  We are all different in these things.  But every human being is equal in one talent and ability, the only one that matters - and that is the capacity to love; to serve and care for those in need, to extend mercy to others.  To fail to cultivate this talent is to fail at life itself.  All our accomplishments in athletics or business or medicine matter not if we failed to love others and show mercy to our neighbor.

Whatever our other talents might be in this areas of human skill we are to use them in service to others; we are to use them to extend the love of the Lord Jesus outward into the world.  That is how talents multiply and double in value.  That is our task in the world as disciples of the Lord Jesus.