This Year Invest What God Has Given You

‘Remember, each of us will stand personally before the Judgment Seat of God.’ Romans 14:10 TLB

Judgment Day will be characterised by two things: rewards and regrets! Jesus highlights this in the story of three servants who were given talents to invest on behalf of their master. The first two invested well and were rewarded, while the third one buried his talent and was judged accordingly. The first two considered their options, crunched the numbers, took the plunge, and were willing to risk failure. As a result their boss said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ (Matthew 25:21 NKJV) Now, God doesn’t reward foolishness. So before you make a move, talk it over with Him (see Proverbs 3:5–6). The third servant, however, said, ‘I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground.’ (Matthew 25:25 NKJV) He made the most common and tragic mistake when it comes to giftedness: he failed to benefit his Master with his talent.

Some invest their talents and give God credit, while others misuse theirs and give Him grief. Some honour Him with ‘fruit’, while others insult Him with excuses. And how does God feel about the latter? ‘Take the money away from him and give it to the one who invested.’ (Matthew 25:28 GNT) Fear is the opposite of faith, and ‘without faith it is impossible to please [God].’ (Hebrews 11:6 KJV) So this year step out in faith; God won’t let you down. Take a risk; He won’t fail you. Even if you stumble on your way to success, He encourages you to envision the day when you’ll feel His hand on your shoulder and hear the words: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’

https://vision.org.au/the-word-for-today/

今年要善用神赐给你的才能！

将来我们都要一同站在上帝的审判台前。 (罗马书 14:10 当代译本)

末日审判主要有两个特征：奖赏（rewards）和遗憾（regrets）！主耶稣在“三个仆人”的故事中也强调了这一点。在这个故事中，主人给了这三个仆人不同数额的钱财（可看作各人的才能），让他们善用这些钱财。结果，前两个仆人都拿了钱财去做投资，得到了回报，而第三个仆人则将钱财埋藏起来，最终也承受了相应的审判。前两个仆人经过深思熟虑，愿意冒险并承受失败的风险。结果他们的主人却说：‘干得好，你这又善良又衷心的仆人。’（马太福音25：21）实际中，神并不会奖励愚蠢的人。所以在你行动之前，先和神商量一下（见箴言3：5–6）。但第三个仆人却说：“我就害怕，去把你的一千银子埋藏在地里。”（马太福音25：25）在使用才能方面，他犯了最常见，也是最悲惨的错误：他没有好好使用他主人赋予他的才能。

我们中有些人会把自己的才能投资在神的身上，而有些人则会滥用他们的才能，这会让神失望痛苦；有些人会用生命的“果实”来尊容神，而有些人则用各种借口来搪塞祂。你想神对后者有何感想？祂会说“收回他的一千银币，赏给那个有一万银币的奴仆。 (马太福音 25:28 当代译本)” 惧怕常常是缺乏信心的表现，“没有信心的人不能得到上帝的喜悦”(希伯来书 11:6 当代译本) 所以，从今年起，带着信心迈出你的每一步！神会保守你，不让你失落！冒险吧，祂不会让你失望的。即使你在通往成功的道路上跌跌撞撞，祂也会鼓励，想象有一天，神将祂的手放在你的肩膀上，并告诉你说：“干得好，你这又善良又忠诚的仆人！”