Mid-Week Encouragement

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

“His master said to Him, ‘Well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” –Matthew 25:21

Last week, my father told me something that every son wants to hear, “I’m proud of you.” All I could think about after reading my Dad’s e-mail was a phrase from the Parable of the Talents (which is the verse above). In this parable found in Matthew 25, the master goes on a journey leaving his servants in charge of his property. To one servant he leaves five talents under his management, to another two talents, and to the last servant he gave one talent (basically they were entrusted with A LOT of money!). Once the master had returned, he called each servant in to return back what they had made with the money. The first servant returned ten talents back (double what was given him), the second returned four talents (again, double), but the last servant only returned the one. The last servant, out of fear, had taken what was given him and decided to bury it in the ground until the master returned. However, the other two had used what was given to them wisely and were able to return a profit to the master. So, what was the master’s response?

To the one who acted out of fear and lack of faith, the master responded by saying, “You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.” After being rebuked by his master, he was cast out. However, to the ones who used what they were entrusted with wisely, he responded, “Well done good and faithful servant…Enter into the joy of your master.”

Jesus used parables to illustrate divine truths. The truth is that if you are a follower of Christ you are entrusted with obeying God’s commands. One day, just as the master in the parable returned to his servants, God will return, judging us as His servants. Don’t you desire to hear God say, “Well done my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.” As I sat in my office thinking how great it felt to her my dad say he was proud of me, I was quickly brought to tears thinking about standing before my Creator and hearing Him say these words, “Well done, enter into eternal joy with me!” Only by placing our trust in the life and work of Christ and relying on His grace alone will we ever be able to hear these words from our Master.