Jesus wants to use our talents and abilities for His glory. Only the Lord knows the full potential in a man's life.
Matthew 9:9, As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.”
What about those whose lives are a tangled mess? Can they be straightened out? Gypsy Smith said, "The fingers that weaved the rainbow into a scarf and wrapped it around the shoulders of the dying storm, the fingers that painted the lily-bell and threw out the planets, the fingers that were dipped in the mighty sea of eternity and shook out on this old planet, making the ocean to drop and the rivers to stream - - the same fingers can take hold on these tangled lives and can make them whole again, for he came to make the crooked straight, and the rough places plain." Jesus can take away the desire for drink. He can cure the love of gambling. He can put out the fire of lust. He can take the devil of lying out of you. He can cure you of your hypocrisy. Luke 4:18 from the Amplified Bible says, “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity...”
The response of Matthew was one of swift obedience. He did not argue. He did not ask for more time to think it over. The call of Christ should always be answered immediately. Hebrews 3:7, 8 says “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness” (ESV). Matthew had counted the cost, and when he was given an opportunity to follow Jesus he turned his back on the old life and began following Him.
Jesus used Matthew to do a great work. He wrote a gospel that would be understood by fellow Hebrews. The only thing Matthew took from the old life was his pen and ink. The Lord sanctified and used it to exalt Jesus. Jesus wants to use our talents and abilities for His glory. Only the Lord knows the full potential in a man's life.