Individual responsibility.
Each one of us must use our talents in the service of our Lord. You cannot fulfill my responsibility for me and I cannot do it for you. When it comes to the basic requirements of worship and service, no one can do that for you.

God deals righteously.
The five talent man was not blessed because he had more talents, but because he used his talents faithfully. The same is true of the two talent man. The one talent man was condemned, not because he only had one talent, but because he did not use what he had. He was not faithful.

Ability grows if used.
The same is true of our talents. If we don’t use them, we will lose them. If you quit studying, visiting, teaching, etc… you will lose those talents. We are responsible to use talents and develop them to be able to render even greater service.

Blessings bring responsibility.
The more we are blessed, the greater the responsibility. If we have ability to teach, visit the sick, lead singing, prayer etc… we are responsible for doing so. Remember the following formula:

ABILITY + OPPORTUNITY = RESPONSIBILITY

If people are busy using their talents, they won’t have any time to be getting into trouble. The one-talent person may have other dangers. He may conclude that his small ability is not worth much, and so fail to use what he has. He may conclude that if he can’t teach as well as someone else, or sing as well as someone else, then don’t do it at all. Let us be reminded that the widow gave her two mites (Mark 12:43-44). She used the ability she had.

We may never be a five talent person, but we know everyone has some talent or ability that he can use to serve God. The lesson is, use what you have and the Lord will richly bless you for it. “His Lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.'” (Matthew 25:21).                                              (RON HUTCHISON)

Do we want good children or godly children? We want godly children who know the principles of good living but also who know God Himself. We desire for our children to have a love and passion for God that overflows in a love for mankind. Without Jesus Christ our ability to forgive, have compassion and to love is greatly limited. In Christ we have the ability to have Christ live His life in us. God can do great and mighty things through families that live by His great and glorious promises and purposes. Reflect on the following 7 principles for raising children from Deuteronomy 6.

Principle #1: Establish and live by God’s standards (Deut. 6:1)
Reflection: Do your standards come from God’s standards? How well have you learnt and lived by His commands?

Principle #2: Pass it on to next generations (Deut. 6:2)
Reflection: Are you excited about what God is doing in your life? If so, have you shared it with your children? If not, do you really expect your children’s zeal will be above yours?

Principle #3: Convinced of the need for God’s blessing (Deut. 6:3)
Reflection: Do you believe that you and your family’s welfare are dependent upon keeping God’s Word? Is it your goal to ‘run’ after His commands so that you will have a passionate love for God that would be worthy to transfer to the next generation?

Principle #4: Undivided loyalty to Yahweh (LORD) (Deut. 6:4-5)
Reflection: Is God your life priority so that every area of your life revolves around Him? If things got real bad like Job, would you give up God? Are you committed to serving the LORD Yahweh as a family?

Principle #5: Devoted to His Word (Deut. 6:6)
Reflection: How many times do you as the father and mother meditate on God’s Word through the week? When you do spend time in His Word, is it because you desire His Word or because you are obligated to do so?

Principle #6: Committed to teaching his sons (Deut. 6:7)
Reflection:  What formal teaching of God’s Word do you bring to your family as the father? How much time? Where? To whom? In the case of informal teaching, do you spend time communicating with your children in the home about the things of God, or is the television/internet more important?

Principle #7: Display God’s Word (Deut. 6:8-9)
Reflection: What do you decorate your walls with? Would anyone know that you have a great love for God from walking in or around your home?

Dads need to rethink their calling from God. They are not just husbands; they are fathers. They need to lead and teach. It is from such verses as Deuteronomy 6 we understand the true importance of the family to a great society. When the family disintegrates, the society dies. When the family is strong and fathers take the lead, the society does well. Will we fathers begin to take our role seriously or let our children be drugged by modern teachings and be caught by the pull of the secular world culture?
(PAUL & LINDA BUCKNELL)

The parable is clear:   the invitation is urgent.The banquet is ready. There’s not a moment to waste.  The food is hot.  The time is now.  We’ve been invited to the feast – are we coming or not?

But lest we feel too complacent – lest we mistakenly believe that all we need to do as faithful Christians is to accept God’s invitation and just show up in church – Matthew adds the unsettling parable of the man without a wedding robe.  The king comes in to see the guests, and spots a man without the clean, white garment that is the proper dress for a wedding feast.  The king apparently looks kindly at him and gives him a chance to speak.  “Friend,” he says, “how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” [Matthew 22:12].   But the man is speechless; he can make no excuse.  And so off he goes in chains – not just out to the streets but into hell.

The point?  God’s door is open to us but we cannot presume on God’s grace.  God’s overflowing, endless, patient, self-giving generosity comes to us as gift, but it comes with responsibility, too.  The parable doesn’t care a bit about the clothes we wear to church or anywhere else; what does concern it is the spirit with which we come before God.  Like the man in the parable, every day we too have a chance inwardly to wear the white robe of our baptism, so that our baptismal vows truly become the framework that guides our lives.  Every day we have the chance to let our lives be shaped and formed by the disciplines of Christian community.

So it’s worth asking ourselves: are we practicing what it means to give generously, to listen respectfully, and to speak honestly and with love?  And with what garment do we clothe ourselves when we come to worship?  In what spirit do we arrive to share in the feast of the Lord’s Supper, that foretaste of the ultimate wedding banquet between Christ and all creation?  Do we come to church wearing the garment of expectation?  Do we come with the garment of penitence and humility?  Do we come with the garment of sincerity, with the garment of reverence? Getting the family organized on a Sunday morning – especially if you have young kids – is no small feat, and sometimes we probably slide into the pews feeling more harried than anything else.  But still, if we can, it’s good to take some time before the worship service begins – maybe the night before – to examine our lives, to reflect on how we have and have not responded this week to God’s invitations, and to prepare ourselves for the feast.

Everyone is welcome.  God’s banquet is ready.  The joy is ours.

(REV MARGARET BULLITT-JONAS)

Jesus’ story makes no economic sense, and that was his intent. He was giving us a parable about grace, which cannot be calculated like a day’s wages. The employer in Jesus’ story did not cheat
the full-day workers. No, the full -day workers got what they were promised. Their discontent arouse from the scandalous mathematics of grace. They would not accept that their employer had the right to do what he wanted with his money when it meant paying scoundrels twelve times what they deserved. Significantly, many Christians who study this parable identify with the employees who put in a full day’s work, rather than the add-ons at the end of the day. We like to think of ourselves as responsible workers, and the employer’s strange behavior baffles us as it did the original hearers. We risk missing the story’s point: that God dispenses gifts, not wages. None of us gets paid according to merit, for none of us comes close to satisfying God’s requirements for a perfect life. If paid on the basis of fairness, we would all end up in hell.                       (PHILIP YANCY, WHAT’ SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE)

The lesson of this parable is that God rewards us based upon the opportunities that He gives us. The later workers would have been willing to go to work earlier, but they were not given the opportunity by the employer.

Had you been given a lot of money, you may have been willing to give a lot of money away to the poor. But if God gave you only a little money, you were not given the opportunity to give away lots of money. Still, if you are faithful with the small opportunities that God gives you, God will reward you with just as much as someone who was faithful with large opportunities that God gave them. He is perfectly fair.

Jesus concluded the parable of the vineyard workers by saying, “And so it is, that many who are first now will be last then; and those who are last now will be first then” (Matthew 20:16). Some who are faithful with the small opportunities that God gives them, now “last” in the eyes of people, might receive more reward than one who is “first” in the eyes of people but who is unfaithful with the bigger opportunities God has given him.
Are you being faithful with the opportunities God has given you?
(DAVID SERVANT)

A comment by Saint Augustine deserves mention. He says that those asked to go into the Lord’s vineyard early in the morning must not say: “Why should I tire myself out when I can go at the last hour and receive the same reward? When you are called, come. The reward promised is indeed the same but the great question concerns the hour of working. No one promised you that you will live until the eleventh hour. Take care lest what he by promising is prepared to give you, you by deferring take away from yourself.”
(JAMES B. BUCKLEY)

A teacher tells her young students, “Class, I’m going down the hall for a few minutes. I don’t expect to be away long. I’m sure there won’t be any trouble.I trust you to work on your assignments while I’m gone.” Fifteen minutes pass,  then 20, then 40.  Suddenly the teacher returns. Dennis has just thrown an eraser at Carol who is doing her math. Steven is standing on the teacher’s desk making faces. The students carrying out the teacher’s instructions are delighted at the teacher’s return, but Dennis and Steven wish she hadn’t come back at all.

Jesus Christ is coming back! That stands as both a warning and a promise throughout the New Testament. It’s good news or bad, depending on who hears it.

What destroys our readiness?

Partly, it has to do with sin. When we indulge ourselves certain sins, we immediately dull the edge of our lives and our awareness. Sometimes we can fool ourselves. We know something is wrong. We know something isn’t exactly pleasing to the Lord, but we indulge ourselves and do it anyway. He’ll forgive us, we tell ourselves. And He will. But this self-indulgence, this moral compromise, prevents us from walking closely with Him and being alert to His voice. We exchange the minor sin for intimacy with Jesus — and the trade is never worth it. It is a deception of the devil to neutralize our influence.

We must take time, spend time in prayer and communion with Jesus if we are to be spiritually alert, spiritually awake. When we’re too busy, too preoccupied for that, our guard is down. If this becomes a pattern — even though we may attend church — we can become spiritually sleepy.

In church we sing songs like “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.” As we take the Lord’s Supper, the pastor says that we “proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). On Sunday morning, the second coming of Christ sounds like great news. But during the rest of the week are we as ready for His return? Jesus is coming back! It may be soon. It will be sudden. Is that good news or bad? It’s up to you.

So what are we supposed to do now in the light of this? Jesus said, “You too be ready.” Be ready. How do you get ready? Abandon false religion, fear God, confess Christ, trust the Holy Spirit, be rich toward God, leave the world behind, seek His spiritual Kingdom, that’s how you get ready. He’s coming and His coming is certain and powerful and for the purpose of motivation…motivating every generation, its timing is uncertain. And so the message is, you better be ready…you better be ready.

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
(AJAI PRAKASH)

Jesus said, “Whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two” (Matthew 5:41). He was referring to the law where a Roman soldier could compel any Jew to carry his backpack, weighing about 50 pounds, for one mile. If you refused to carry it, you would be flogged. Imagine being on your way to your destination when a Roman soldier orders you to carry his 50-pound pack. It would be hard enough to carry it for one mile, but now Jesus tells you to carry is an extra mile.   So now you must carry it
two miles, and then walk two miles back to your original spot where he stopped you, which is four miles! (Remember, you’re walking under a heavy load, not driving a car.)

Let’s say you’ve carried the pack for a mile and the soldier says, “You can put it down now.” You reply, “I would really like to carry this for you for another mile.” The soldier curiously asks, “Why would you want to do that?” You answer, “Jesus told me to do this for you.” Now you have an opportunity to share your faith with this Roman soldier as you walk that extra mile. You’re going beyond natural duty, which opens his heart. There’s no telling how many Roman soldiers became Christians during that second mile.

We don’t carry packs for Roman soldiers anymore, but the principle remains the same – go the extra mile at your job, at home, and in your relationships. Jesus asks us to do many things that don’t make sense, but if you will just obey, you will begin to see Him act on your behalf. It’s in that second mile where the miracles happen!

If you are having marital problems, go the second mile and do something special for your spouse. Marriage problems will close the hearts of husbands and wives, but going the second mile will open up his or her heart again. The same is true for other relationships as well. Remember, miracles occur in the second mile.

What can you do today to go that extra mile for someone?
(KENT CROCKETT)

Our giving to God is intimately connected with  the  love  of  God.  Before we  know  the love of God, we may give of ourselves to others—but our motivation will always be self-centered or self-motivated. But when we experience the love of God, the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, the blessing of God, EVERYTHING changes. Those who have responded to the love of Jesus cannot help but have their motivations radically transformed—why we give, what we give, and even to whom we give turns from self-motivation, and becomes driven by the love OF Jesus, a love FOR Jesus, a love LIKE Jesus, and a love TO BE WITH Jesus.

#1 Our giving is motivated by the love of Jesus:   Our giving is motivated by the love OF Jesus. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, then the love OF Christ begins to control us. There is a difference between believing Jesus and following Jesus. Anyone can believe in Jesus—even demons. Following Jesus means the governing force in your life is the love Jesus has for it. It holds you, restrains you, compels you, and holds your life together. Our desire to give, therefore, is generated by the love of Jesus in us.

#2 Giving is motivated by a love for Jesus:   Our giving is motivated by the love FOR Jesus. Once we accept Jesus’ love, we see the world entirely differently. As the hymn, “TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS” says: As we turn our eyes upon Jesus, as we look full in His wonderful face, the THINGS of this earth grow strangely dim. Before Christ, we didn’t give because we were afraid of losing everything. But, our hearts are changed and now we do all things out of a LOVE for Jesus.

#3 Giving is motivated by a love like Jesus:  Jesus says that the distinguishing characteristic of His disciples will be a love for one another—the people of God, the church. We DO NOT give our time, money, or stuff because it is sinful to have or enjoy our time, money, or stuff. Jesus is not some cosmic kill joy who doesn’t want us to enjoy the good gifts He has given us. WE GIVE because, as disciples, we are overwhelmed with a love for others. Our desire to enjoy is trumped by our desire to bless. We give not because we want to go without, but because we don’t want others to go without—we want to bless. Having been given the mind of Christ, we consider others more needy, more deserving, more important than ourselves.

#4 Giving is motivated by a love to be with Jesus:    Finally, our giving is motivated by a love of being with Jesus. Not only is our view of the stuff in this world changed, our view of the nature of this world entirely is changed. We must never forget  that this is not our home. The Bible calls us refugees, exiles, and sojourners on earth. We are ambassadors in a foreign land. We are missionaries in the field. We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. This should impact how we give. If we LIVE with an eternal perspective, we will GIVE with an eternal perspective. Our giving is motivated by a love of being with Jesus.                                                                                     (SAM FORD)