Why do we celebrate Harvest Festival? To thank God for our food and drink. How do we thank God?  We thank God by sharing our food and drink with others in need. Like the Food Bank.  We also remember that God has given us our gifts and talents to share with one another – like Tools with a Mission. Who do you want to be when you grow up? Jesus told this story to help us realise that you’ve got talent! God has invested in us. He has entrusted us with gifts and talents. He wants us to develop them to serve. He wants a return on his investment.  God has made each one of us unique. He has given each of us gifts and talents, and skills and passions. How can we find out what talents God has given us?Ask these questions:

• What am I good at? (Skills)
• What makes me sad?  (Concerns)
• What do I like doing? (Passion)
• If I could do anything, what would it be? (Vision)
• What has God told us all to do? (Responsibility).

Keep asking these questions and as you grow up, your role will become clearer.  Allow your passion to become your purpose and one day it will become your profession. But it’s not just about discovering my talents. It’s also about discovering how to use them.  I can use my talents to make lots of money for myself or I can invest them for the benefit of others. I can use my abilities to hurt people or to heal people. I can use my talents to build up or tear down. I can use my talents for myself or for God. This glove represents my life or your life. When we try and use our talents for ourselves this is what happens (blow the glove up) – we are just full of hot air and soon wear other people out.

But when we realise we are servants of the King and invite Jesus to live in us, He breathes his life in us so he can use our talents and gifts for his glory. That is why we must daily be filled with His Spirit.

Have you ever watched the programme on TV called The Dragons’ Den?  To help you apply Jesus story and discover God’s plan for your life, I’d like to make an investment in you. As long as your parents agree,

I would like to invest in you by giving you some shoe polish, a cloth and a glove. I’d like you to clean your shoes and the shoes of your family, and maybe of people who come to your house. Please don’t ask for money but if people offer to give you some, say ‘thank you’ and explain it is going to help people in Syria who are suffering. Like the man in Jesus story,

I am going away for a month, but when I come back, I expect you to return my investment in you, hopefully with interest.  Please bring back the polish and any money to the Christ Church December Family Service. We will then give any money raised to help people suffering in Syria.

And when you clean the shoes, put the glove on. It will remind yourself that you are doing it for Jesus and need his help to do it for the right reasons. It will also keep you clean.

Now this is not a competition to see how much you can make with your talent.  What matters is that we are thankful for the talents God has given us and we use them with a servant heart.