So we’ve looked at a number of His parables. Parables are extended analogies that help us understand a truth. And they can be categorized in a number of ways. Some are commentaries on the kingdom of God. Others communicate the ethic of the kingdom of God. Our last few have done that. For example, last week, in the parable of the Unforgiving Servant, we saw that in God’s kingdom, because we have been so generously forgiven by our King, it is not only appropriate but necessary for us to forgive others from our hearts. Some parables instruct us how to live. And all Jesus’ parables are meant to elicit a response in us. This week, we will close out this season on what Jesus taught by considering a parable that encourages us to live a certain way while at the same time offering some weighty truths about who Jesus is and what He will do. Today, we are looking at one final parable in Matthew 25:14-30— the Parable of the Talents. This parable teaches us that when Jesus returns, He will call us to account for how we have managed all that He has given us. As a result, we are to steward all that we are and all that we have for God’s kingdom and purposes. At the inevitable return of Christ, it will pay off!