“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.”
Matthew 25:14-19
During 2026, Peachtree Church is inviting everyone into Cultivate, a churchwide discipleship plan centered on the fruit of the Spirit and the kind of life God longs to grow in us. Throughout the year, we’ll explore how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control take shape in everyday life through the Spirit’s work. Cultivate brings together worship, Scripture, group guides, and meaningful practices designed to meet you where you are and support growth in ways that fit your season. These twice-weekly devotionals are one way to stay connected, offering reflection and grounding for daily life with God. Whether you engage in many ways or just one, you’re invited to be part of this shared journey of becoming more rooted in who God has created and called you to be.
Devotional
The opening of this parable has always struck me in a profound manner; the man who entrusted his servants with his wealth knew them. He knew their capabilities, he knew their strengths, and presumably, he knew their weaknesses. It points to an understanding of the totality of who those three servants were, which provides a very different perspective than we often begin to approach this parable. It speaks towards the faith that the man had in his servants, while also reminding us of something that can be tricky: the interplay between knowledge and faith.
The classic, Biblical definition of faith comes from Hebrews 11:1, which reads, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” The writer of Hebrews sought to point his readers towards the fact that faith is not based in fact, yet in doing so, it can cause some of us to lose sight of the idea that as we grow in faith, we also grow in knowledge of the object of our faith.
The man had faith in the abilities of his servants before he was willing to give them the wealth that he had earned, but that faith had to grow. That growth required that he spend time, energy, and effort in seeing just what those servants could accomplish. We can see that in the way that each of the servants was entrusted with wealth, “each according to his ability” (Matthew 25:15), not in the manner that would have been “fair,” to give them each the same amount.
God knows us each. He knows us each according to our own abilities. While there are often times when it feels as though God might have more faith in our ability to overcome than we believe that we do, we are always given what we can handle, even when it requires the care of others to bring us through our trials.
For Reflection
- How has your knowledge of God grown as your faith in him has?
- When is a time when you have seen God’s faith expressed in you?
Prayer
Lord God, you have called us to know you, while also calling us to have faith in you. Deepen our faith in you, even as you help us to know you more deeply. Help us to put our trust in what we cannot see, even as our understanding of you grows. Amen.
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Devotionals