You Will Have to Answer to God for How You Used Your Gifts and Fulfilled Your Purpose

We talked a couple of weeks ago about how we will one day be evaluated by God.  Part of that process will be an evaluation of how we used and stewarded our gifts, talents, calling & purpose that God has given us.  We will have to answer to God for what we did with what He gave us.  Essentially, we will have to give account for how we used our gifts and how we fulfilled God’s plan for our life.

“So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” Romans 14:12 (NIV)

“For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay] according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing].” 2 Corinthians 5:10 (AMP)

“For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.” Matthew 16:27 (NLT) 

In John 17:4 (Message Translation) when Jesus was praying at the Last Supper he said, “I glorified you on earth by completing down to the last detail what you assigned me to do.”  Even Jesus had an assignment for which he had to answer to God.  Just as God had an assignment for Jesus, He has an assignment for us as well.  It’s up to us to figure out what that assignment is and then to use our God-given gifts to fulfill it.

It is our responsibility to discover and use what God has given us.

The famous 1800’s preacher, Charles Spurgeon said in his sermon Our Gifts and How to Use Them, “Every living saint has his or her charge to keep — their talent, over which they are a steward. A measure of gift is in all of us, needing to be fanned into a flame.”  His sermon uses the example of Paul telling Timothy not to neglect the gift that is him.

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”  2 Timothy 1:6 (NIV)

Rick Warren, renowned pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?, stated in a devotional (‘Make the Most of Your Talents’), “You are a manager of the gifts God has given to you.  They may be great or small in your eyes, but they matter to God.  “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV).  When God made you, he made an investment in you, and he expects a return on that investment.” 

We can see an example of that statement Continue reading →