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 about how we will have to answer to God in two different, but similar, parables that Jesus told that teach on the importance of being a good steward of our gifts. He taught about how we need to invest and use wisely what God has given us in order to advance His kingdom. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells a story of three servants. A couple of them wisely invested what they were given, and another did not and only hid what he was given. The master then said, “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” Matthew 25:29 (NLT). They were held accountable and rewarded accordingly based on how they used what they were given.
The same thing happened in Luke 19:11-27. Jesus told a parable about ten servants who had each been given money by their master. Just as in the other parable, some invested wisely, and some did not. This master told the servants who were complaining about not being rewarded, “’Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” Luke 19:26 (NLT).
Picture this scenario…
Imagine for a minute that you’re the owner of a company, and you are going to be doing a performance evaluation for your employees. Imagine that one of your employees comes in to your office for their appraisal. Let’s say, for example, they are a Customer Service Representative. According to their file that you’ve kept on them, they never answer any phone calls, they don’t complete all of their paperwork, they don’t assist customers as their position requires, and they don’t get along with their coworkers. How does this make you feel? What kind of review would you get them? Does this make you want to reward or promote them?
When you ask them why they didn’t do their job, the job that they were hired to do, they just make excuses. They tell you they didn’t know how to do anything and that they didn’t know exactly what they were supposed to do. They say they really don’t even know what their job is. So you ask them, “Why didn’t you ask?” You say, “I was here all along to help you and answer any questions that you had. There are also other people here that can help you. I gave you all of the tools that you needed to do your job. For example, your phone is right there on your desk. Why didn’t you use it? Instructions for completing the paperwork are right here this training manual. Why didn’t you read it and follows the instructions inside of it? You are supposed to help people in this job. Why did you turn so many people away when you could’ve helped them? The whole purpose of your position is to serve and help people. You were hired because you already had the skills necessary to do this job. I’m very disappointed because you didn’t complete the task you were brought here to do.”
Just like in the scenario, we have a specific job to do. Someday we will have to answer to God for that job. God has put us here for a purpose, and He’s given us the gifts and tools that we need to accomplish that purpose. He’s right there with us to help us discover our gifts and purpose. He’s also given us a training manual and guide book on how to do our job—the Bible. 😉 If we make excuses for not fulfilling our tasks or using our gifts, we’ll not only miss out on some rewards and blessings here on earth (Psalm 27:13, Psalm 31:19, John 10:10), but we’ll miss some rewards in heaven too (Jeremiah 17:10, Philippians 3:14, Revelation 22:12).
On that day when we stand before the judgement seat of Christ and have to give an account and answer to God…I, for one, hope to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21, Luke 19:17) How about you? Do you want to hear those words said of you when you have to answer to God?
Take Some Practical Steps to Prepare Yourself to Answer to God for How You Used Your Gifts and Fulfilled Your Purpose:
- Know that you WILL have to give an account to God someday. You first have to understand this and believe this if you ever want to fully use your gifts and fulfill your purpose.
- Ask God to give you the desire to want to use your gifts, to fulfill your purpose, and to want to hear the words “well done, good and faithful servant”. Apathy will hurt you both in this world and in the world to come. Ask God to remove any apathy or lack of interest.
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
- Discover what God has given you. Do you know what your gifts and your purpose are? If so, then start using them, and start fulfilling it. If not, we will talk some more about how to discover them in future posts.
- Use the gifts and talents God has given you. Are you using your gifts? How are you using them? Are you using them to serve only yourself or to also serve other people? Are you using your gifts to further God’s kingdom? Make sure you are giving God a return on his investment in you!
- Develop and cultivate your gifts and talents. Are you developing your gifts, or are you neglecting or hiding them (like the unwise servants in the parables)? Do what Paul told Timothy to do–“fan into flame” your gift. You need to fan a fire to help it grow. You also need to develop your gifts to help them grow. Your gifts will not grow on their own if left alone or hidden. Find ways to improve your gifts. Educate yourself. Study and learn more about your gifts and how to use them. Find ways to practice your gifts. Find ways of using them to help others. Pray and ask God for ideas on how to further develop your gifts…ask and you shall receive! 🙂
- Evaluate yourself. If you had to answer to God today for how you are using your gifts and fulfilling your purpose, what would you say? How would you answer the question, “Did you do what I asked you to do?”? What do you think God’s response would be?
Later, we’ll talk more about how to start the process of discovering your God-given gifts and how to find your purpose. Stay tuned!
What do you need to start doing differently to be ready to answer to God for how you used your gifts and fulfilled your purpose? Leave a comment below (click on the post link to join the conversation if you’re viewing through e-mail).
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are rude, disrespectful, sarcastic, offensive, or off-topic. By posting on this site you agree to my Comment Policy.
P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy receiving new posts delivered right to your inbox each week! Sign up here.
If you have benefited from this post or if you know anyone that could benefit from this, please pay it forward and share this post with them via the sharing links below! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)
There are affiliate links in this post (I may get a small commission if you make a purchase).
