Destinations

Have you ever sat down and truly asked yourself, "Why are we born with talents and abilities? And what’s their purpose?We can't just be good at a specific capability or have a certain skill for no apparent reason. What’s the purpose behind it then?"

In this world, there’s a great amount of talent. Everywhere you look, there are people with abilities that you would’ve never thought of as possibly possessing any. Some can dance, parkour, sing or even do all three! There are people who are great at sales, and, depending on where you go, there are others whose resume should read, "Very good at spending." (I try to stay away from them) The point I’m trying to make is that talent comes in all shapes and sizes and can be found everywhere you turn.
I have a good friend by the name of Michael that I would like to introduce to you. He’s not like any individual you might meet during a typical day. He's loving, caring, passionate and above all, extremely talented. Michael has this thing called “passion” within him that others might lack. When he has a desire to make something happen, he just goes for it.
Growing up, Michael has had a passion for language, from the pronunciation to the communication aspects that allow us to communicate with an entirely different group of individuals. All of the separate parts of language brought him to love it as a whole. Now, moving on to the good part... The average person might know one, maybe two languages, but Michael is way above average. With his passion for learning languages in particular, he has gained fluency in a total of four, which are English, Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL) and French. He’s currently learning Portuguese and Japanese and wants to learn Norwegian and Mandarin Chinese. This is what makes him a special individual with great talent and the reason why he was selected as one of the spotlights for the week.
Up to this point, we know how many languages Michael knows and how cool of a person he is. But if you're wondering why I’m writing about him then allow me to explain. Just recently, Michael woke up and decided that he wanted to move to New York. Moving there was a big deal for him because, for the past few years, he has been a straight up Floridian boy and, for the most part, only knew life in the Sunshine State. But we know that with every decision there is a purpose. Michael's purpose in going to New York is applying his talent with language into a setting where it can flourish (if you’ve been to the Big Apple, then you know it’s one of the most diverse places in the world). The number of different cultures and languages spoken in there is phenomenal. In other words, Michael is in a place where he can let his God-given talent grow and, most importantly, use it to glorify God.

If you'd like to follow Michael on his Big City adventures, he posts a daily blog onto his Instagram account: @bigapplebite or click here: https://www.instagram.com/bigapplebite/

Shameless plug aside, if being a friend of Michael has taught me anything, it’d be this: the reason for having talents is to use them to serve each other (1 Peter 4:10) and to glorify our Father and Creator, The Lord God Almighty! I'll leave you with this: God has placed multiple talents within us all. What we do with them is completely up to us, but the saddest thing in the world would be a wasted talent. So I urge you to be like Michael; do what you have to do in order to effectively grow in your talent. Because whichever one you have been given, that are not being put to use, will one day be taken away and given to someone else who would put them to greater use.

“Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.”

Leo Buscaglia

Romans 12:6-8

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms..