Stewarding God's Gifts
Exhortation | Lord's Day—May 11, AD 2025
As a new batch of seniors are graduating this academic year, I thought it would be good to review the concept of “calling” this morning. How do you discern what God is “calling” you to next?
Of course, this applies not only to young people but to all of us as we leave and enter various stages of life. How do you, as Christians, decide what vocations to pursue, spouse to choose, area to serve in, or make any other decision for you and your families?
The first thing to understand is that God has given all of you gifts, desires, experiences, and opportunities that you are called to steward in order to be faithful and fruitful.
We have a vivid illustration of this truth in the Parable of the Talents (Mt. 25:14–30). In this parable a Master, representing our Lord Jesus, distributed various amounts of “talents”—money—to his servants to steward before he left on a journey, each according to their ability. While two of the servants faithfully made an increase on what they had been given and were praised by the returning Master, one hid his talent in fear and received severe judgment from His Master.
All Christians have received something from God. We are all His servants and have been entrusted with talents—with desires, abilities, and opportunities that are to be used for the furthering of His kingdom here and now.
And so the question to ask is—what have you been entrusted with? And how do you make the most of it to the glory of God and the good of the people around you? Where do those three categories—desire, ability, and opportunity—best align?
Very rarely is this process of discerning your next steps a mystical experience. Our God gladly works through the mundane, He works through ordinary and simple means. He works through reasoning, the seeking of counsel, and most importantly—through faith.
As we read in Proverbs, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (3:5–6).