Luke 19:11-27 - Not giftedness but faithfulness

As the whole entourage of Jesus was nearing Jerusalem, He told His disciples another parable. This parable recorded in Luke 19:11-27 was told to elicit faithfulness in investing the Gospel, placed in each one of us.

This parable had often been mistaken to be similar to the parable of the talent. But this story is different in that it tells us that the master called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.  Ten minas for ten servants. It would mean that everyone had equal share. Everyone had one mina. One mina is equivalent to a person's wage for three months. The servants were told to invest that one mina each of them had. This is referring to the Gospel deposited in each one of us. Obviously Jesus is the master in this parable. When He comes back we, His servants, would be giving account for the Gospel deposited in each one of us. There will be those that had multiplied more out of that deposit and would be doubly rewarded.

However, we are told in this story that one of the servants was paralyzed by fear and did not do a thing with the mina. He hid it in the ground for he was afraid of losing it. He was fearful that it could be stolen or that He was not competent to invest it. So he merely hid it and did nothing about it. The master was angry with his negative attitude and passivity. His excuse was that he knew the master to be an exact man and would take what he did not lay down and take what he did not sow. This is obviously untrue. For if that was truly his thought he would have invested it. Hence he was snared by his own words.

Quite obviously, this account tells us that all of us are given a deposit of the Gospel. We are expected to invest it regardless of our ability. Are we investing the Gospel? Are we sharing with others about what Christ has done for us? Are we giving more, to help others see what Christ can do for them?  All of us will be rewarded so long as we invest the Gospel, the treasure deposited in us. It has nothing to do with our giftedness but our faithfulness. The final hour is around the corner. Are we investing?