We are walking in the sight of unseen intelligences. A witness is by our side constantly to see how we trade with the Lord’s entrusted goods. When the good steward returns his talents with usury, he will claim nothing. He will realize that they are the talents that God delivered unto him, and will give glory to the Master. He knows that there would have been no gain without the deposit, no interest without the principal. He will say, “Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.” Let the church now consider whether they are putting out to usury the capital the Lord has given. Without the grace of Christ every soul would have been bankrupt for eternity; therefore we can rightfully claim nothing. But while we can claim nothing, yet when we are faithful stewards, the Lord rewards us as if the merit were all our own. He says, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” {TM 166.2}

Vi vandrer i usynlige intelligensers påsyn. Et vidne er hele tiden ved vor side for at se hvordan vi handler med Herrens betroede goder. Når den gode tjener lægger sine talenter tilbage med renter, vil han kræve intet. Han vil erkende at det er de talenter som Gud udleverede ham, og vil give herlighed til Mesteren. Han ved at der ikke ville have været nogen fremgang uden anbringelsen, ingen interesse uden hovedpersonen. Han vil sige, »Herre, fem talenter betroede du mig, se, jeg har tjent fem talenter til.« Lad menigheden nu tænke over hvorvidt de tager den kapital ud for at ødsle den som Herren har givet. Uden Kristi nåde ville hver sjæl have været fallit for evigt; derfor kan vi med rette intet kræve. Men dersom vi intet kan kræve, er vi stadig trofaste tjenere, og Herren belønner os som hvis fortjenesten helt var vores egen. Han siger, »Vel, du gode og tro tjener, du har været tro (167) over lidt, jeg vil sætte dig over meget; gå ind til din Herres glæde.«