Carrie Baker – The Growth Collective

I had a beautiful opportunity to speak at a women’s conference. The message the Lord put on my heart to share, was so powerful, they spoke about it for many days after. And so I want to share it with you.

We began our time together exploring Jesus’ parable of the bags of gold (or talents), which is a powerful story that has also stuck with me since. It’s a story about stewardship, yes, but more than that, it’s a glimpse into what life in the Kingdom of Heaven truly looks like.

You may know it already, but can I encourage you to take a look at this parable with fresh eyes, ready to see the deeper layers of what Jesus was communicating?

Let’s take a moment to read it now: 

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ —Matthew 25:14-30

Here Jesus tells of a master who entrusts his servants with wealth before going on a journey. When he returns, he finds that two servants have multiplied what they were given, while the one who was fearful, buried his gift and returned it untouched.

During the conference we discussed: What is the gold in this story? What have we been entrusted with?

The answer might surprise you. The bags of gold (or talents, depending on your translation) don’t represent money, status, or even ability. It’s the message of Kingdom of Heaven. It is God’s message of the coming Kingdom, of all things being made new, being restored, of the hope we have and life breaking into the here and now. And it’s not just something we tell others about or wait for. We are called to live it out.

Jesus didn’t just teach about the Kingdom, He embodied it. Whenever Jesus healed someone, loved the outcast, or when he spoke truth and set people free… that was heaven in the ‘here and now’. Through His life, death, and resurrection, heaven came near. Through Him, we are invited to join Him, in the renewal of all things.

The Kingdom is both “now and not yet.” It’s ‘here’, in every moment that lives are healed, hope is restored, and people are transformed. It’s in the godly choices we make, when we create, how we love, and how we cultivate our spiritual life and the spaces in which we live. 

But it’s also ‘not yet’. When the Kingdom comes in all it’s fullness and glory, all things will be made new under the perfect reign of Jesus like is says in Revelation 21:1–5.

But in the meantime? We are co-labourers.

We aren’t just waiting for heaven. We’re invited to help build it, right here, right now. And that makes everything we do now, incredibly significant. When Jesus returns, we’ll be called to give account for how we stewarded what He entrusted to us. The good news is, that those who are faithful will share in God’s joy and be entrusted with even more in eternity.

That brings us to the original design.

Long before Jesus shared this parable, before Jesus’ time on earth, before even the fall of man – God created humanity in His image and gave us a role. He didn’t just ask us to enjoy creation. He asked us to partner with Him in cultivating it. Genesis 1:28 says:

“God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over… every living creature.’”

That same calling echoes through time, to us today. We are still invited into the ongoing work of cultivating, stewarding, and bringing order to creation. This isn’t just for a select few, it’s for us all, and God is still looking for those who will say “yes” to His invitation to join in His eternal work.

It’s worth pausing to ask ourselves:

• How do I see the message of the Kingdom? 

• Am I sharing with those who don’t yet know, that the Kingdom of Heaven is near?
• Am I living in the ‘now’ of it, or just waiting for the ‘not yet’?

Scripture reminds us that we are not left to figure it all out on our own. Ephesians 1:4–11 tells us that before the world began, God chose us, loved us, and prepared good works for us to do. We’ve been showered with kindness, grace, wisdom, and understanding. We have received an inheritance in Christ and a place in His redemptive plan.

Those things that are created uniquely within us, are the way the Lord intended us to do those ‘good works’, and embody the Kingdom message.

We’re not just saved – we’re sent.
We’re not just forgiven – we’re formed for a purpose.
We are His handiwork, created to do the good works He prepared for us.

NT Wright puts it beautifully – he says the church is meant to embody God’s restoration of all things, through creativity. Whether it’s music, art, or the way we serve others, all these can become signs that point towards the Kingdom, pointing forward to the new creation.

So what does that look like in the here and now?

Sometimes you see glimpses of the Kingdom of Heaven in a song that moves you to tears, or a piece of writing that stirs something deep within. Other times, it’s when we see the Holy Spirit move, or the impossible happens. We also live it out in the ordinary things: the way we care for our homes, show up for work, support our friend, or raise our children. All of it can be Kingdom work, building now what has an eternal and lasting impact.

You are created to be a vessel of God’s goodness.
Your whole life can speak the message of the Kingdom of Heaven 

In the next blog post, we’ll go deeper; looking at how to recognise the unique gifts God has given you to live out the Kingdom message, what it means to multiply them, and how to live out the Kingdom message in a world that desperately needs hope.

But for now, pause to reflect, and ask the Holy Spirit:

How am I being a good steward of Your Kingdom message? How am I living it out in my own life?

We will continue this conversation next week, in Part Two.

I can’t wait to see what gold we dig out in you, in the next blog post. I don’t want you to miss it – hit subscribe to make sure you catch it!.

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See you soon friend!

Carrie x