The Last Shall Be First and the Least the Greatest in the Kingdom - By Matthew Robert payne
For many years these words of Jesus puzzled me. It is not that I have sat in church and not been listening to the sermons. It is not that I have not read many books on Christian subjects; but still these sayings of Jesus in the title, that the last shall be the first and the least in the kingdom will be the greatest, eluded me as for their meanings.
So what does it mean?
I think (and don't go quoting me too much) the key to this can be found in the parable of the talents that Jesus told:
One day a master gave three of his servants some talents of money (a talent was a weight). He gave one servant one talent; he gave one of the servants two talents; and one of the servants five talents. Then the master went on a trip for a while. When he returned, he found the one that he had given five talents to had increased his money by twofold to ten talents. The one he had given two talents had doubled his money also. But the one he had given the one talent to only had the one talent to give back. Apparently he had hidden the talent and not done anything with it. The master was angry with the one who had not done anything.
In this life we are all given talents of God. It says in the parable that each man was given talents that matched their ability. So if you are not educated and you live in a poor garbage dump slum in Calcutta, you may be given one talent; yet if you come from a good family and have a good education, you may be given five talents by God.
Now, the lady that was born in the slum and had to collect rubbish that could be sold for the rubbish tip at three years of age may be given the gift of mercy and giving. These are her talents from God. As she grows into a woman that knows God, she may start to exercise those gifts by giving money or food to poorer children and families and sharing the love of Jesus with them. She may start a Bible study in her makeshift house and really do good things for the Lord. But if we were to look at her, we would see her as the least and the last. Jesus says that in the new kingdom she is going to be made great.
Now, we have an educated man from a wealthy family that is given five talents. He goes on to become the CEO of a major corporation in the USA. He is given the gift of pastoring and shepherding a flock, but he ignores that gift. He is also given the gift of evangelism but keeps his conscience at bay my giving to a ministry that evangelizes. He is what is seen in this world as the greatest. He has many cars, many houses, and is very religious, but he has buried his talents. He is the first and greatest in this world, but in the kingdom to come he will become the least and the last.
So my question to you is...what are your talents, and are you using them?
If you have enjoyed my article you can read my book called "The parables of Jesus made simple" for free here in its entirety or just selected parables in chapters at http://www.parables-of-jesus-christ.net/ The book is also available on Amazon where you can read reviews. For prophetic counsel, Christian life coaching, Dream interpretation, Christian chat and great Kingdom Teaching come and see us at http://www.kingdomassignments.com.au Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Robert_Payne Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6845989
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