p. 131 | Burying the Talent by J. F. Bahler

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 8, 1873

Burying the Talent.

By J. F. Bahler

“But he that had received one [talent] went and digged in the earth and hid his Lord’s money.” Matt. 25:18.

ARE not we following the example of this unprofitable servant, when we cease to labor for the Lord? How often we hear it said, Let us get right ourselves before laboring for others. There cannot be a more unwise saying than this. It will cause us to settle down at our ease. And shall we not thus bring upon ourselves the woe pronounced upon those who are at ease in Zion? (Amos 6:1.) There is an utter impossibility of getting right when we neglect the important work of the Lord. Read the first twenty-nine verses of Matt. 25. If you desire to get right, make distributing God’s precious truth your practice; then you will grow in the graces of Christianity, and be enabled not only to pray, and bear your testimony in meeting, but you will have a living testimony.

Do you know what a living testimony is? You have seen springs of water called living springs. Just go to such a spring and try to stop the flow of its water; fill up its mouth completely. Very soon you will see the water bursting out somewhere else. It is constantly coming up, coming up, and it must flow forth to quicken and enliven its surroundings.

Just so with a living testimony; it must flow forth. What would you think of a general who was constantly talking of going into battle, and never entered into so much as a skirmish? Why, dear reader, you would say, This man’s fighting is all talk. Let not our professions of battling for the Lord be of this kind. Let us act, not talk, merely. We might better cease to ask the Lord to help us labor while never putting forth one effort; this is but mocking our dear Lord. Have you buried your talent, reader? If so, dig it up, and put it to use. J. F. BAHLER.