In the parable of the ‘talents’ in Matthew 25 (verses 14-30), the Master upon returning and seeing those who put to work their ‘given talents’, exclaims – “well done my good and faithful servant, come and enter into the joy of your Lord”.
Faithful can be defined as- “a person who is loyal and steadfast, firm and constant in one’s obligations and fulfils his obligations to someone or something.” Jesus Christ has blessed us with His Holy Spirit and that comes with ‘gifts’, or ‘talents’ that are to be put to use for Him. Walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, we are led by Him to fulfil all that He asks of us.
It is not just using our ‘talents’ and ‘gifts’ for His purposes. The presence of the Holy Spirit also helps us in our temptations and times of weaknesses. Learning to walk in the Spirt and not by flesh is a journey and along the way there will be moments of testing. In James 4:17, it says: – “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” The Apostle Paul goes onto say in his letter to the Romans(8:26):- “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” The Spirit is interceding, saying, “go this way, don’t do that!”
When we remember that God is faithful and His mercies are new every day, we can come to Him regularly in prayer, in the secret place. It is here that we are built up, where we learn to be built up in the Spirit and learn to walk as a ‘faithful’ servant. Jesus says in Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Learning to walk in the Sprirt starts with desiring to be with Him in the secret place. We learn to walk faithfully, we learn to come to Him daily and we can then learn to use our gifts and talents well for His Glory! We can then expect to hear those most wonderful words – “Well done my good and ‘faithful servant.”
