Day 1:
- Read Matthew 25:14-30
- Reflect on this text and write about the signs of grace and generosity that you see in the master who went on a trip. How does this text shape your understanding of God’s generosity?
Day 2:
- Read Matthew 25:14-30
- Reflect on this text again; today write about the personal way the master gives talents according to ability. How does this text shape your understanding of the talents God has given to you?
Day 3:
- What talents has God given to you? Write them out.
- How is God inviting you to put those talents to the service of God’s kingdom?
- Write about the fears or other emotions that have been your reasons for burying your talents.
Prayer
I’m not really sure I want to admit it, God, but I am a person with gifts.
Oh, I’m not one of those super-talented, can-do-it-all, people,
but there are things I’m good at, things that might even be useful to You and others.
But, here’s the problem – if I admit it, then I have to do something;
then there are no more excuses; no more comfortable inadequacies to hide behind.
If I acknowledge the abilities and strengths You have placed in me I’m going to have actually use them;
I’m going to have to serve, and be accountable, and maybe even make commitments… and stick to them.
But, if I pretend that I’m not gifted at all, I lose something of myself, I allow myself to be less than I really am,
to experience less, to learn less, to be less alive.
So, thank you, God, for making me a gifted person, and thank you that my gifts can make a difference,
can, in some small way, help to make Your dream for my world a reality. Amen.
Days 4 and 5: Pray the above prayer and journal to further share your thoughts with God.