During the last few months we have been made well aware that God appears to be moving into the parable of the 'Talents' found in (Matthew 25:13-30).  This is an exciting time as God is attempting to validate where each of His servants either invested and multiplied his investments, or hid their talents and His investments. We have seen many people recently rewarded for their past investments in the Kingdom in the most unusual methods. On the other hand we have also seen people get many things taken away from them through the most unexplainable methods.  The parable of the Talents states "For the one who has will be given more,and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." God is starting to review and validate His return on investment through His servants so he can use His multiplication theory in the last day's harvest. He is settling up and asking His servants to start looking at their past and present to see where they should begin looking for what they have invested. We believe this review or searching connects with Isaiah 45:3 "I will give you hidden treasures,riches stashed away in secret places, so you may recognize that I am the Lord, the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel." In this passage God is hinting that we should begin to look in the places where our treasure may be brought back to us. These places are dark places and secret places that you may have forgotten about, more than likely places from your past that are ready to be harvested.

It is important to note that God states in this parable that he is a shrewd master who will may even decide to reap in places he has not sowed a seed.  For this reason we need to pay particular attention to where and what God is ready to harvest. This same concept is implied at the close of the parable where Jesus fed the 5,000 people with 5-loaves of bread and 2-fish. The fact that he had the disciples pick up 12 baskets of leftover fish and bread after feeding the 5,000 indicates that he will harvest in different methods, and that He is concerned that nothing be wasted. God eventually wants back more than was sown; as it is simply the proven process of gaining through a harvest. This principle is that you always get more than you planted or invested.

For the readers who are thinking that this parable of the Talents is talking only about our reward and validation of our investment after we die, or when the Lord returns; please consider Jesus' words in Luke 18:29-30. He clearly states that those who have invested properly will receive many times more back in this lifetime. This means there is a return on the investment coming in this lifetime   "I tell you the truth, " Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life." It's a promise; so count on it, and start looking for it!

We should not get concerned if God is echoing the words 'Where is the return on my investment in you."   Rather, we should get excited because whatever God's receives from His return on each investment will ultimately go towards your account in this lifetime, as well as the eternal lifetime to follow. This is the very reason He rewards the faithful servants with more things, more authority, and the very words of "Well done thy good and faithful servant, you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things, enter into the joy of your lord" (Matt. 25:21). I don't know about you, but I am excited that we are entering into this phase of our walk with the Lord. Our living generations, living in this decade will receive the reward of God's investment in them.

The reality that a return on investment comes after a season of time, and for those who view their struggles, trials, training, losses, and endurance as a seed that was sown indicates that only the expectant and thankful person will receive the return. 

The people who are expectant will naturally begin to look, expect, and find their return and harvest. In fact, they will become so expectant that they will begin to 'Ask' God. This last piece will help them fulfill the scripture that informs us to 'Ask, Seek, and Knock.' This passage is found in Matthew 7:   but also includes a promise that if a good earthly father knows how to give things to his children how much more will your Father in heaven give to those who ask.  God did not say beg!  Expectant people ask for what is rightfully theirs; they never beg.

The expectant and thankful people will start looking and listening to God's voice and leading toward the connections and rewards from their past. They will be the people who clearly understand that God's plan for humanity has always been reconciliation, redemption, and the law of retribution. The law of retribution is simply a faith that we will reap what we sow!  This is found in Galatians 6:7 "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."

This all sounds so simple and obvious, so let me explain why it is so difficult for some people.  The fact that you will reap that which God has sown into your life means that I must be thankful for my past experience, trials, hardships, struggles and losses. It is a positive confession that God was the author of my life, my faith, and eventually my finisher. Through the act of thanking God for all things, I am openly stating that I view the past trials and struggles as an investment that was entrusted to me. Without this thankfulness, I am accusing God of wrongful acts of investment.

As a continuation of being thankful, I need to tell the truth about those who refuse to be thankful.  When I accuse God of the past, I stand in contempt of the Kingdom and remove my investments ... or hid them in the recesses of my mind by trying to forget the pain of them.  This hiding practice was exactly what the slothful servant did in the parable of the Talents; 'He hid the talents or investments, because He was afraid, guilty, shameful, or embarrassed of the investment of what God entrusted to him.' He may also been afraid of simply making a mistake based on a past track record of making a mistake.  In essence God was saying to him 'You are in contempt of my Kingdom and my investments; now it will be taken away from you and given to him who was thankful and invested in my Kingdom.'  This is the very reason why many ministers and others are having things taken away from them. They were in contempt of the kingdom!  They cannot be thankful and useful with the multiples of investments God gave them through struggles, trials, people, and relationships. They chose to hide the reality of these difficulties, became controlling and territorial over what God gave them through people to invest.  Because God is creative and will always get His return on investment, He literally redeems it by giving the little they had to those who have learned to be expectant and thankful.

I have used the word Contempt a few times so let me explain what it means. It means that you have a state of mind of shame, or one that despises the situation, authority, or governing body (see Websters).  Too many Christians have been shameful and despised by their past experiences and cannot give thanks to God for the very trials and struggles that were to be considered an investment or talent for a latter day increase in return. The mere fact that they cannot thank God for His investment in them through these trials, has and will continue to rob them of their blessing, their return on the investment, and their harvest based on the trials or circumstances.  This is why James warns us  be thankful for our trials and struggles; Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

Many people are lacking today because they were in contempt of their blessings, the kingdom, and God himself. People who misunderstand their trials and sufferings often become shameful people that quickly try to get rid of the very thing they consider shameful; rather than being thankful for their unfortunate circumstance.   This is the very thing Jesus did when he was publically humiliated, violated, tormented, tortured, and eventually killed. He quickly counted it joy to be shamed like this so that God the Father and God the Son could instantaneously receive one of the greatest returns on investments, known to mankind; the salvation of the world.  It is perfectly described in Philippians 2:7-11.   If Jesus would have hid the trials, embarrassment, and misfortunes as shame; He nor we would ever have hope for a resurrected life; which is the ultimate return on that investment.

Seeing that we as Christians are to be disciplined after Christ (Disciples), we need to be thankful of every experience that God had us go through for a future return. When you consider Jesus was violated (raped) of his dignity, emotions, intelligence, his body, position in God, authority in the Kingdom, his incarnate birth, and even His life on earth leading to His death; you must realize there is nothing short of death that you or I can't learn to be thankful and forgiving of, if we claim to be Christ-like.

I realize many people will read this and embrace the concept and quickly redeem their past, and begin looking and hearing the details of their return on investment. However, there are some who have read through this and will still struggle with being thankful for their trials, struggles, violations, shame, guilt, and mistreatment from their past.  I beg of you to not stay in contempt of the Kingdom much longer, as you may be the one who suffers, rather than the person or people you want to suffer. Bitterness is like drinking poison; yet having a false expectation that the other person will die.

Start the process of thanking God for all things. Scripturally we are privileged to this; scripture says that God created light and darkness and He also created peace as well as evil or calamity; there is no other God who creates like He does. (Please read Isaiah 45:5-8). This means I am actually holding God in contempt, when I stand in contempt. The good news is that I can't even hold myself in contempt! Rather, I can thank God as He is the only God that has birthed in me every detail, trial, test, circumstance, etc. And, even if I purposely left His will and created some of my own messes, I can quickly redeem and exchange it for his goodness.  This concept allows me to balance my past, heal my past, forgive my past, and no longer hide the investments of the past, even if they were bad experiences, calamity, evil, etc.    God desires this concept to become clear, so in Isaiah 45:8-9 He makes it clear that whoever argues with His maker is in grave danger. Read a few different translations on this passage and you will find that we walk a very fine line when we stand in contempt of God's position on why He does what he does with each clay pot (you); as he is the potter. 

Again, please review your life, realize that God brings us through all things as He controls all things, redeems all things, and ends all things. We must not be shameful of our past, guilty of our past, disrespectful of our past, or we risk standing in contempt. At a mere prayer of forgiveness and thanksgiving for your past; you can allow a new investment to be recovered from your past misfortunes. You too can start looking for a return on investment!