Well Done

 

Matthew 25:21, His lord said unto him, 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.

This is a part of the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25; at the occasion of accountability, the Lord praises the servant who has been trustworthy in their actions and choices with what was entrusted to them and will be rewarded with greater opportunities, responsibilities, and sharing in God’s joy. With that observed there are three terms that will prove helpful for us to executing “good”, “faithful”, and “servant” behavior.  Competence, commitment, and humility comes to mind….

A ’good’ servant is keenly focused on pleasing God and serving others, demonstrating loyalty, diligence, and effective stewardship. They are good at what they do—a high degree of competence is showcased. Ephesians 4:2 tells us a servant should always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting others in love. Then 2 Timothy 2:24-26, says that a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient…they must gently teach those who disagree. Obviously, they are ‘good’ in the eyes of the Lord.

Then according to 1 Corinthians, 4:2 it says, “It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” This biblical definition of success highlights ‘faithful’, and not ‘fruitful’.  Certainly, we trust that as we are faithful to Jesus, we will yield fruit in our lives in all kinds of ways. Never-the-less, faithfulness aligns with a commitment to Christ to be such.

A genuine ‘servant’ is concerned with devotion to pleasing the Lord Jesus and is passionate for advancing the gospel. Certainly, we must strive to be bold, humble, persistent, caring, committed, giving credit to the Lord, and loving one another. These characteristics should certainly describe us as ‘doing well…faithful servant’ (Matt 25:23). As ‘servants’ we belonged to Jesus Christ and perform the varieties of works he gives us.

What makes a good and faithful servant? Primarily, every Christian entrusted with abilities, opportunities, and duties must perform them faithfully, prepared at all times to account for what has been done. Catalog whatever you have and take and offer it faithfully to the Lord Jesus. It's not about how much ability you have, it's what you do with it…how you develop it…how you invest it. The key is to be consistent, sensible, and ready.