2.23.2026 - Scott Elgersma

Monday, February 23, 2026

Matthew 25:14-34

As you enter your time with God today, take a moment to quiet your mind from thoughts of life and this world. Breathe this prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus, come. Fill me with your Spirit. Open my heart that you might share your words of life with me today. I long to be more like you.”

We read today from Matthew 25:14-34. Read the passage now or at the end of this devotion. What can we learn today about the generous grace of Christ?

In this 2nd week of Lent, we will walk through the Parable of the Bags of Gold from Matthew 25:14-34. We will spend our time looking at God’s great generosity to us, and how it is that he expects us to respond to that grace.

Close your eyes, breathe deeply (expand your stomach, not your chest as you breathe), and for 60 seconds, remain before God in a posture of gratitude. Say “thank you” again and again. Allow your mind to wander into the places where God has shown you his blessing and give him thanks. Close that moment by taking and holding a slow deep breath, hold it, and slowly let it out.

This passage, as I read it, is about grace. There certainly is enough in the parable to make us wonder if this is about the talents and abilities we’ve been given, but fundamentally, the master of the parable entrusts “his wealth” to his servants. Two servants are rewarded because the wealth they received is doubled through their faithfulness. When one chooses to squander the opportunity and buries the gold he’s been given, the servant is described as “worthless”, thrown into the darkness and joins others there who are “weeping and gnashing teeth”. That strikes me as illustration of being included in God’s family through grace or being cast out because the gift of love was not received.

Those of us who know grace are then compelled to wonder how we are responding to the generosity of God with his grace to us. As we wonder, let us keep a couple things in mind.

First, grace is a generous gift. Better said, grace is the most generous gift that could ever be received. It is an undeserved gift. (“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23) If you know Jesus, you have the greatest blessing you could ever know while you’ve been stuck in the bondage of your sin. Grace is a gift that changes the present reality. (“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17) Grace is a gift that changes the future. (“Set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” 1 Peter 1:13) There is nothing that compares to the gift of grace.

Second, a response to the grace we’ve been given is expected by God. The master of the parable gave the bags of gold to each servant before he left on a journey. Each one knew that something was expected with what they had been given. Even the lazy servant knew enough to at least have the gold safe to return to the master. The master gives what he gives anticipating some level of response. 

Each of us has been given a bag of gold. Each is measured uniquely to those who have received it. Mine looks different than yours. But we all share in having received a staggeringly generous, life-changing, future-altering gift. When Christ placed this gift of grace in our hearts, he did so with an arched eyebrow of expectation. What will we do with his gift? Will we ‘invest’ it in the hearts and minds of those around us through loving relationships and bold proclamation of the story of Christ’s love? Will we instead squander our “gold” and hold it to ourselves and the safe spaces where we risk nothing, but lose the opportunity to see the transformation of Christ in the hearts of those we meet?

The meeting with the master is planned on his schedule. One day we will answer for the bag of gold, the grace we’ve been given. May our hearts be moved to share it generously with others just as Christ generously and undeservedly shared it with us. 

And in our meeting, may he say to each one, “Come and share your master’s happiness.”

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his smile towards you and give you his peace.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

I love you all. Blessings.

Feel free to share this devotion with others.

Some questions out of today’s text and teaching.

Did you have a “day of grace”; a moment when you came to know Christ? Is your story more of process of grace? What does that look like? How can your story of undeserved love fuel you to share the gold of grace with other?

To contact the author, please email: elgersma@therivercrc.com