Talents, Revisited (No Regrets)

" For we will all stand before the judgement seat of Christ...Then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.
Rom. 14:10-12


The parable of the talents is the story of how the Lord expects us to deal with the blessings He sends our way. The following is an insight into the essence of God's expectations for how we spend our lives and how we use the gifts and tools given us by Him.
The judgement seat of Christ is the place where we will receive rewards or trophies, not penalties. Although we are saved as a free gift because of what Jesus did on the Cross, our salvation is worked out with fear and trembling, and the Lord does keep an account of what we did with the "talents" he bestowed on us- physical, mental, financial, spiritual gifts for the purposes of exalting and worshipping Jesus and building his kingdom. Heaven will not be equal for everyone! The varying rewards will be manifested in our glorified bodies, clothing, our dwelling place, position of authority, relationship with God, etc (1 Cor,15:41-42) The rewards express how Jesus feels about our love for Him in this life, and about working with Him in what He considers precious. Rewards are not about gaining superiority over others, as in this world. The plumb line, the measure is not by earthly or human standards, but by the measure of dedication in God's Word:
"We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." (2 Cor.10-12).
Our work here- how we handled the talents- is meant to honor the Lord. The directions are clear: buy gold from God refined by fire- Rev.3:18- " I counsel you to buy gold from Me refined by fire, that you may be rich. "Gold" is defined by the anointing to walk out the first commandment, the anointing to receive and return God's love from Him and to Him, as defined by the Sermon on the Mount. There are many other scriptures that explain more: Eph.6:6-8, Heb.6:10, Mt. 10:42, Mt. 22:37-38, 2 Cor. 5:21, Rev.22:12, Mt.6:1-6, Col.3:3-4, 2 Jn 8, Rev. 3:11, Rev.3:18.
What will matter most about our lives is what Jesus will think when our eyes meet on the last day. Would you rather be shocked here and now, or when it's too late to change anything, on the day of judgement?
Quoting Mike Bickle: " The thing I fear the most is having regrets ...my goal is to live in such a way, to use the talents God gives me , so as to not have regrets when I stand before Him."
So how then shall we live from this moment forward? If you have buried the talents God has given you, like I had for so long, dig them up, and get busy building your eternal future.

(Thanks to Mike Bickle, IHOP-KC, from the teaching , "the Judgement Seat of Christ: Living Before God's Eyes")