Talents and minas

Jesus told several similar parables about turning a profit on God's investment in you.  In one parable (Luke 19:11-27), a king gave ten servants ten Mina's, and a mina was worth approximately three months wages.  So, assuming a modern salary of $60k/yr, and assuming one mina per servant, each servant received approximately $15k.  

What would I do with $15k?  I might be tempted to think that $15k is not that much to invest.  After all, "it takes money to make money", right?  The easiest thing to do would be to put it in the bank to earn interest, which is currently near nothing.  Maybe you put it in a CD?  When is this king going to return and want his money back?

But that perspective is wrong.  Jesus tells us that the king rewarded those who multiplied his investment ( e.g., 1000% and 500% increase).  It would take a very long time to get that return from a savings account, so I assume that these servants took some serious RISK in their investments to gain such a good return.

It is tempting for me to think that I don't have that much to invest.  If I was artistic or athletic, then I could make more of an impact for the Kingdom.  But that perspective is wrong.  I need to demonstrate faith by being risky with what God has given me to invest.

In the parable of talents (Matt 25:14-30), the master gave five talents, three talents, and one talent, in proportion to their ability.  Per the table in the appendix of my Bible, a talent was worth 60 minas, or 15 years worth of salary.  Assuming $60k/yr, we are looking at $4.5M, $2.7M, and $0.9M, respectively.  Can you believe that someone would bury a million bucks?  But don't we all do likewise when we marginalize our own unique personality, skills, resources, and purpose?

Yesterday, Neill preached on the parable of the mustard seed (Matt 13:31-32) about sowing seeds of faith, and he said repeatedly, "small seeds can become big things."  In both the parable of the talents and the parable of the minas, sowing and reaping are mentioned.

Heavenly Father, thank you for investing in me and giving me a chance to invest in your Kingdom.  Lord, may I be faithful to sow seeds of faith all around me.  I want to live risky for a 1000% profit. It is you who gives the increase.  I love you, and I ask in the name of Jesus.