“For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him” (Matthew 25:29; Jesus speaking).
This statement of Jesus follows two parables in Matthew 25: (1) The Parable of the Ten Virgins; and (2) The Parable of the Talents. In the latter, Jesus tells about a Master who distributes His wealth among His servants before going away on a journey. Note that a “talent” was a huge amount of money:
“To one [servant] he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent…” (Matthew 25:15).
What the Master entrusted to each servant was a different amount. How was the distribution determined? That same verse goes on to tell us that the Master gave to “each according to his ability.”
Here again, even though money is what’s used in the lesson, Jesus isn’t talking merely about money, but about WHATEVER gifts, talents and blessings He has given to a believer. And remember His method of distribution? He gave to “each according to his ability.” “Ability” to what? DON’T MISS THIS: to receive.
What’s required in order to receive anything? A receptacle; something to hold whatever is given. Coffee requires a cup. A meal requires a plate. A car needs a gas tank to hold the gas it needs in order to carry out the function for which it was created.
Aha! Are the light bulbs coming on? Let’s take that gas tank and fill it with water. What’ll happen? The car won’t run. Why? It’s not the fuel it was designed for.
We were designed by God to hold HIM. And yet we fill our lives with other stuff to the point of having no room for the ONE THING we were created to carry within us!
Think about a tiny infant. As that baby grows, he eats more and more. But at the same time, it’s BECAUSE that baby eats that he grows. By the time he’s a teenager, there seems to be no limit to what he can hold! Why? Because he has grown; and in doing so, he’s stretched his capacity to far more than what he started out able to hold.
Please etch this on your hearts and in your spirits, people: WE HAVE AS MUCH OF JESUS AS WE HAVE ROOM FOR. He fills us “according to [our] ability,” meaning according to our capacity for Him. As we grow in Him, He can fill us with more. More what? More of Him, which comes OUT in a stronger prayer life; a deeper study of God’s Word; a greater desire to serve others; and far less selfish attitude and spirit.
“For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.” Ever seen kudzu? No wonder my daddy called it “mile-a-minute!” You let a sprig of that stuff on your property and it’ll take over in a hurry. Kudzu’s got nothing on Jesus. When you let Jesus into your heart, mind and spirit, He’ll fill you faster than kudzu – if you’ll LET Him. It’s always a choice. You CAN have Jesus in “abundance.” You CAN have an “abundance” of whatever it takes to do whatever He calls you to do. An “abundance” of whatever it takes to make it through whatever He allows you to go through.
“Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” No false god; no false religion; no worldly stuff is going to make it into heaven. And no one who’s filled with that stuff is going to make it there, either. By the same token, no false god; no false religion; or no worldly wealth is going to sustain a person through life’s troubles. One crisis and the one trusting in any of those things quickly finds that their value is “taken from him.” They’re utterly useless. Only Jesus guarantees “abundance.”
“Be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17).
Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (NIV).
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