The parable of the talents explained in a new way

I am so very grateful for an posting I read this morning that helped me see Jesus' parable of the talents in a whole new light. It always seemed like an odd story, one that cast the Master in a bad light. My sympathy was with the man who did not increase his talent but returned it unspent.  Over the years I have come to see a more spiritual way of  looking at that description of the kingdom of heaven but what I read today took it to a whole new level.

Think of the man 'travelling into a far country' as the Christ. Before he goes, he calls his servants, or those who choose to follow the Christ, and gives them shares of his 'goods'. In Jesus' time a talent was a sizable amount of money, more than a man could earn in twenty years. So this was no small responsibility. It was not an outright gift, but he was leaving it in their care until he returned. Think of that as our having received Christian Science, to the level of our present understanding.

While he was 'away' the wise servants improved those talents, grew spiritually, used that time of probation for progress in understanding more about God and themselves as His image and likeness. But one servant misunderstood Christ. He falsely believed him to be 'hard man', perhaps thought of God as punishing and formidable. Many religions view God that way expecting wrath and cruelty. This man was afraid of that God and he did not use the time to correct his wrong beliefs but hid them 'in the earth', saw himself as the man in Genesis Two, created from the dust of the ground and eventually banished from the kingdom of heaven. He hands back the gift of Christian Science unused and remains as he was when it came to him.

The Master chastised him for not seeking help, he could have called a practitioner or a Christian Science friend who would have gladly helped  and encouraged him to use that talent. We may all have had opportunities to seek and strive for a clearer understanding of some situation. We might have chosen to live with some challenge rather than use Christian Science to heal it. That option is there.

Mrs. Eddy writes much about our salvation resting on 'progression and probation' as we come to see that 'heaven is not a locality, but a divine state of Mind'. We can choose or accept the belief of ignorance but ignoring a situation never leads to healing. No matter how long you nurse a grudge, it will never get better. No matter how long you accept and live with error, it will not just go away.

Our 'work' is to improve our experience, use the talents, put into practice what we already know, even if that seems like just a little bit, and work daily to gain more. God works with us. Use your 'one' talent and watch it grow. Then the Christ will compliment you, well done, as you are faithful over the little things. They are preparing you to overcome and have dominion over the rest.