12-02-2025 PART 1: Daily Faith Over Future Fear

Section 1
The passage in Matthew 25 revisits the parable of the three servants, emphasizing how Jesus teaches stewardship as an intentional expression of ongoing faith. The servants received different amounts, not because of their skill or merit, but because The Lord entrusted each with what He knew they could handle. Their task was not competition but cooperation with His purposes. The point is that gifts are never for boasting; they are for serving the people of God. Spiritual maturity isn’t determined by what someone possesses but by how they use what God places in their hands. Whether it is time, talent, or treasure, the calling is to invest what we are given for His purposes.

Section 2
The servant with two bags of gold demonstrated this perfectly. He returned with double, and his Master celebrated him in the same exact way He celebrated the servant who doubled five. Jesus makes clear that the reward is based on faithfulness, not volume. The Pharisees had wrongly believed that outward success or wealth signified God’s favor, yet Jesus praised the widow who gave less in amount but more in heart. The emphasis remains steady: God values devotion, not comparison. Whether someone ministers to thousands or tens, what matters is the heart that serves with what has been entrusted.

Section 3
But the last servant introduces a different lesson. Instead of gratitude, he responded with blame and accusations, revealing distrust toward his Master. Fear, not faith, governed his decision, and he buried what was given to him. Jesus points out that the issue was not the smallness of the gift, but the smallness of his faith. The Master later calls him wicked, not for failing, but for doing nothing. God is never displeased when someone tries and falls short; He is displeased when fear keeps someone from trying at all. Every believer has been entrusted with something to advance His Kingdom, and Jesus urges us not to hide or bury those things. Faithfulness means stepping out, trusting The Lord to guide, teach, and strengthen, knowing inactivity—not failure—is the real loss.