As Christians, we should all want to be useful members of the body of Christ. We should want to be a help, not a hindrance to the cause of our Lord. If such is going to be the case, we have to determine that we are going to be active members of the Lord’s church, doing our best to use the talent with which God has blessed us.
God has given all of us talents. We may not all have the same talent, or even the same amount of talent, but we do have talent. Do you remember the parable of the talents given by our Lord? It is found in Matthew 25:14-30. The master gave one five talents, to another he gave two, and to another just one, but he gave each of them at least one. Accordingly, God gives all of us some kind of talent as well. The only question is will we use it? If we are going to be useful in the Lord, we have to figure out what we can do for Him and then do it.
Do not procrastinate when it comes to using your talent. Once you determine what your talent is, get excited about it and put it to use as soon as you can. Too often, those in Christ convince themselves that they will have plenty of time later to serve the Lord, but that kind of thinking will get you into trouble. First, none of us know what tomorrow will bring, or if there will even be a tomorrow (James 4:13-14). Not only that, but a wasted day can easily turn into a wasted week, then a wasted month, and before you know it, wasted years. The next thing you know, you will be finding yourself looking back at a wasted life in which you were of very little use to the Lord.
Let us learn from Abraham who, when he was commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac, got up early in the morning to do what God told him to do (Genesis 22:3). Let us learn from Paul, who, after his conversion, the Bible says that he went immediately into the synagogues to preach Christ (Acts 9:20). Let us learn from the promptness of the two wise stewards in our Lord’s parable of the talents, who went at once to trade them (Matthew 25:16-17). Promptness is always prudent when it comes to being useful in the Lord.
Being a useful member of the body of Christ is not always easy. It takes sacrifice and commitment, and a willingness to work, but the prize far outweighs the problems and perspiration. We know that the ultimate reward for the useful member of the body of Christ is a home in heaven, but even now we have something of value. We have the peace of mind of knowing that we are doing good and pleasing our Master. We can look forward to our Lord’s return, knowing that we will be found in His favor. Let me ask you, are you looking forward to the return of Christ? We all should be.
Titus 2:13 (KJV)
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;
If you are not looking forward to our Master’s return, it may be because you know you have not been of value to Him while He has been away. It is not too late, however, to turn it around. Start using your talents, whatever they may be. Start helping the cause of Christ flourish by being an active member of the local church of which you are a member. You will never regret it.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.