Using gifts from God

When you grow up, you want to be a football quarterback -- but you're the smallest kid on the team. Maybe you want to dance, but you use a wheelchair to get around because your legs don't work.

Lots of people give up when dreams can't come true the way they want them to. But in this week's Gospel (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus talks about using what you've got -- that God gives everybody gifts, and we have to make the most of them!

"Heaven," Jesus said, "is like a man who gave his servants money. One servant got two coins and used them to earn four; another used five coins to earn ten. A third got one coin, but just buried it to keep it safe. The first two servants told the master, `I earned twice what you gave me.' They were rewarded. But the third servant said, `I buried your money so I wouldn't lose it.' The master said, `Lazy! You didn't earn any extra.' He took the coin away and gave it to the servant with ten coins." Jesus finished, "Those who use what they have will get more, but those who don't will lose it."

Not all kids are big and tall. If you want to be a quarterback, but you're short, you might feel angry. "If I can't be what I want, I don't even want to play!" you yell.

That's like the third servant in the Gospel story. He wanted lots of money, like you want to be big and tall. But he only got one coin. The other guys used their money to earn more, but the third servant didn't even use his. He buried it in the backyard!

Sometimes, dreams come true in different ways than we expect. Maybe you use a wheelchair, but you can still dance in your own way, using your arms and the rest of your body.

The third servant figured that out. The servants in the story are really us, and the master is God. When God yelled at the servant for not using what he had, Jesus was giving us a message: Everybody can have a good life, even if it's different than you expected. Everybody can dance -- and even if you're not a quarterback, you can still be a part of the team!