2 Corinthians 5:8; Absent from the Body

2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

The greatest assurance for life is the hope of eternal life. When we will take our last breath, we are confident that in Jesus Christ, we shall be present with the Lord. This is the believer’s strength for life. He has the confidence, come what may, the end is safely secured in Christ. Therefore, daily he trusts in the Lord’s guidance to bring him safely to his eternal destination in heaven. There is no fretting but a zeal to delight in the Lord, following Him in the meditation of His Word for wisdom. Wisdom to make godly decisions for a new day.

To be with Christ is far better. Yet, we have unfinished work on earth. Jesus gave the parable of the talents to encourage His people to be spiritually productive, to bear fruits of righteousness. They are to use their talent to make gain for the Lord until they will enter into the joy of the Lord.

The word “talent” is a measure of weight. It derives its name from the fact that it is a weight of circular shape. In the metrics system, it is the weight of between 28-30kg. Its weight is in either silver or gold. In short, one talent represented a large sum of money to use and invest for profit.

The meaning of the word “talent” today refers to people of remarkable ability or gifts, they are called “talented” people. This use of the word is a modern invention. It was differently used in Bible times. When our Lord used the word “talent”, it applies to all believers without distinction. We have all “talents” in God’s sight, we are all talented people. So, what are these talents? Anything whereby we may glorify God is “a talent”. It can be our gifts, our influences, our money, our resources, our knowledge, our health, our strength, our time, our senses, our reason, our intellect, our memory, our affection, all our providential circumstances and opportunities to do good, our privileges as members of Christ’s church, our advantage as possessors of the Bible, all are talents. Who then is the bestowal of these talents, as we learn from the parable, it is by the Master Himself who bestows or entrusts or put at our disposal. All the talents are but a loan from God. We are God’s stewards, God’s debtors. This is one important truth that we will do well to understand. No man has anything of his own, except his sins. We are but tenants of the estate which God has entrusted to us. He said, “Occupy till I come.” All the honour of our ability and the use of it must be unto God, because He is the Giver.

May the Lord help us to race our race looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finsher of our faith. Amen.