Well Done

Every Christian is hoping to hear those beautiful words that will be spoken to us by our Lord Jesus when we finally see Him face to face, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” But what is a servant and what makes them good and faithful?

A servant is essentially a steward of the master’s possessions. Whether it is someone who works for the master doing the most mundane of tasks, or the one responsible for overseeing the staff and managing the finances, a steward is responsible for doing all that they can do for the benefit of the Master. It is never what we are doing that counts, but in how well we are doing it.

But what is the advantage in striving to do everything that we do with God in mind? In truth, this should be our everyday objective, as we read in Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” 

Paul then takes the concept of giving and serving a bit further in Philippians 4:15-17 where he says, “You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.” So, the giving of our time, talent and treasures in the name of the Most High is credited to our account in Heaven. Think about that for a moment! You and I have an account in Heaven. Hmmm.

Serving God faithfully is a matter of how well we use our time, our talent and our treasure, in order to further the will of God and to show His love to others. After all, are not our time, talent and treasures in fact gifts given to us by God? Therefore, our Heavenly Father is watching each of us to evaluate how faithful of a steward we are with the gifts He has given us. Gifts that are meant to be shared with those around us. Gifts that are meant to bring heaven to earth and to demonstrate the love of the Father to His children.

A faithful steward gives of his or her time, talent and treasures with an eager and joyful heart. Because we need to remember that God judges our every act based on where our heart is at when we said what we said or did what we did. As we read in 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Finally, there is a promise that Jesus gives to those of us who are faithful stewards of our heavenly gifts. Our Lord says in Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Understand that we cannot outgive God.

Ask the Holy Spirit to search our heart and to reveal those times when we gave of our time, our talent and our treasure with less than a joyful heart. Then pray for God’s forgiveness.

Pray that the Spirit of God would reveal each opportunity to give of our time, our talent and our treasure, in order to show His love for those who receive our gifts.

The truth is that wanting to hear Jesus tell us “Well done my good and faithful servant” is something that is not just hoped for, it is something that must be worked for. It is only through the willing and faithful stewardship of the gifts that God has given us, in the name of Jesus, that we will hear those beautiful words that we all long to hear.