In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a powerful story of a three business men who stewarded the resources of the master differently. The master (owner) entrusted five tenants to one of his servants, two tenants to another and one to the final servant. The one who had five doubled it by the time his master returned, the one who had two doubled his, but the one who had one buried it in the ground as to not lose it. The master was pleased with the men who doubled what he had trusted them with and was righteously angry with the one who buried his talent.

In this parable we learn a couple valuable lessons. First, is that the everything we have is from the master. It is the master (God) who entrusts us with everything and anything we have (Psalm 24:1). Second, God expects a return on what He entrusts in our hands. The goal of a believer is not to keep what we have but to grow it, increase it, to multiply it. Third, surrender is a necessary part of stewardship. When you’ve been entrusted with something from the master it is important to remember that it needs to be used according to His purposes. It’s His, so we need to be ready to surrender it to His plans, desires, and ways.

Surrender is a necessary part of stewardship.

The man who buried the talent gave up. He didn’t take any risk, he didn’t invest it, he didn’t increase it, he didn’t fulfill the masters wishes. The calling of every believer is to be a SOWER, to multiply and grow the kingdom of God. We do not bury what God gives us, to hold it, to maintain it – we SOW it.

Sowing is different than burying. When you bury something the goal is to hide it, when you sow the goal is to invest it. When you bury something you the goal is to maintain it, when you sow it is to grow it. When you bury a gift you hope to get it back, when you sow it you are giving it away. To sow what God has given to us to surrender it over the Lord of the harvest. Trusting that He can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.

The calling of every believer is to be a SOWER, to multiply, to invest, to grow the kingdom of God.

How do you see what God has put in your hands? Are you trying to hold on to it (bury it) or are you investing it (sowing it)?