Step #36-Share Your Talent

“I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me.” John 8:28

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent (March 31, 2009)

Johnny, Johnny, Johnny… today’s Gospel is very deep. I could take each sentence, analyze it separately and probably come up short. I’ve made a decision during this journey to join a Bible class or Bible study group in May. In the meantime, just bear with me… and feel free to add your own thoughts.

I chose the above sentence for this step because it seems to be a topic I’ve been discussing with my older son a lot lately. We cannot do anything on our own. Everything we have, our intelligence, our talents, our jobs, our families, comes from the Father. Yes, we had to put our part to get where we are today, but we would also not be where we are today if the Father had not been with us during our journey. He gives us the talents, it’s up to us to develop them and use them. We may be gifted with a beautiful voice, but unless we use it, practice and even take lessons, we may not be able to reach our full potential. On the other hand, I can tell you that the Father did not give me a beautiful voice, so even if I sing every day to the top of my lungs, even if I take singing lessons, even if I practice, I will never be able to sing in the choir. We need to discover our talents and our gifts and then we need to develop them with our Father’s help.

There are things that may not come easy to us, but with effort and hard work we may be able to accomplish them. There are magnificent people that have a lot of limitations and yet they have been able to do great things. Nothing is impossible if you have the will, and with God, we can do anything, however, there are certain things that come easier to some than to others and it is very sad to waste a God given talent. It is like telling God, I don’t accept your gift.

As we take the next step, let’s look within our hearts and ask: “What is my talent? What gift has God given me? Am I using His gift to the best of my ability? Or am I so ungrateful that I am keeping it in hiding?”

Let’s ask Mary to teach us how we can use our talents, our intelligence and everything that we are to help improve the Kingdom of God.