To a large extent our lives are defined by the opportunities available to each one of us. I think it is fair to say that we all seek opportunities because we realize that achievements in life are largely dependent on them. This does not only apply to earthly temporal things, such as career, wealth, and social status but it also shapes our eternity. My concern in this post is not with professional advancement or how to make money, but with the opportunities that have implications beyond life on this earth. God presents all people with life changing opportunities. We can either make the most of them or we can waist them. It all comes down to how we respond to them. 

In the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24-25), Jesus’s main message is to stress that, more than anything, we should be found ready. He speaks about the end times when all will have to stand before God and give account for their lives. In this sermon, Jesus uses several parables to get his point across. One of them is the parable of the talents, which is probably the clearest picture in the New Testament in terms of the responsibility each person has to capitalize on the opportunities God gives them. 

In order to cover the truth revealed in this parable in more detail, I will break the post down into three parts: the types of opportunities given, the time when they can be used, and the time when an account has to be given for how they were used.

Abundance of gifts

In the first part, I will focus only on the opportunities themselves, what they look like and how much God gives to each person. In Matthew 25:14-15, Jesus says: 

For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

Several details in these verses are noteworthy. God gives gifts to all, but not in the same measure. There is variation based on ability. The gifts however are significant, even in the case of the one who receives less. God uniquely equips each individual with a certain potential, and then presents opportunities based on that potential. He knows perfectly well every one of us. This combination of potential and the appropriate opportunities is a complex one. It has at least three types of gifts.

General gifts 

All things that people consider to be of value, such as life, health, beauty, power, position, wealth, intelligence, privileged circumstances, abilities, and skills are gifts granted by God. We can see a great deal of variation here. Some are gifted with a long life while others with a short one; some with exceptional health while others struggle with illness; some with strong athletic bodies while others are impaired; some are beautiful while others not so much; some are wealthy while others are poor, and so on. The point is that all receive some, even if others receive more. 

An observation here is that there is usually some sort of balance. For example, one that is physically impaired in some way has often more wisdom than those who have a great physique. We all received a package from God, which is very valuable in its totality. Even if certain parts may not look that way, when we look at it as a whole, we can see that we received much. 

The gift of knowledge

In addition to these general goods, we have something even more important. We received revelation from God. He has made Himself known to us so we are not left in the dark. Notice the variation here as well, as we look at natural revelation and special revelation. While not all people may have had the chance to read the word of God, Paul says that all men are without excuse, because God has revealed himself to some degree and each will be made accountable based on that (Rom 1:20). In a very general sense God revealed Himself through creation and through the conscience. 

But he also revealed Himself in the Bible, something that many have access to in the twenty-first century. Whatever the amount of revelation, we are responsible for it. We see in the parable as well, that the one who received one talent was not expected to bring five talents but he was expected to at least earn interest on the one he had. This means we are all accountable to some degree when it comes to the knowledge of God. It always amazes me when people give much consideration in figuring out how God will hold accountable those who never heard of Jesus while they completely fail to consider the fact that although the Bible is easily available to them in many formats, they chose to ignore its content. Our main responsibility is to consider what is available to us. Each servant in the parable focused on the talents given to them and not on what the others have received. 

The gift of redemption

The ultimate gift that God gave to humanity is his son. In this, God provided life’s greatest opportunity, namely to be forgiven and redeemed, to spend life in eternity in the presence of a holy God. Apart from this great gift all the things that you are born with, all the things you were able to accomplish in this life, and even having knowledge about God would not be of much help. We would still have to pay the penalty for our sins. But because God so loved the world, He gave his only Son to die on the cross and take upon himself our punishment. The result is that we can have forgiveness, we can be reconciled with God, we can have eternal life. Now this is life greatest opportunity! 

Whether you will return to my blog for the next two parts of this post or not, I want to challenge you to consider just how much God has blessed you with. You can analyze all areas of your life, and I am sure that you will find that God has been extremely good to you. This calls for thanksgiving but also for responsibility. There is a purpose for all the God has given us. He has expectations from us. In the next two parts, I will seek to explore the time frame when we can decide what to do with all that we have received and the outcome that each type of response will bring. Hope you will come back for both parts.