Well Done Good And Faithful Servant?

In Matthew 25 Jesus tells a parable where three men are given some money by their master, to manage in his absence. When the master returns the servants make a report of what they have done with the money they were entrusted with. The first servant did well, and in verse 23 his master says to him:

"Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master."

That first phrase, "Well done, good and faithful servant" is one that many Christians anticipate hearing from the Lord on that day when we come into his very presence. Hearing those words from our Savior would mean that after we came to have faith in him we did well in serving him with whatever gifts he happened to give us. Hearing those words would mean that we saw our lives as devoted to his service, trusted by him to use his gifts wisely and for his glory.

To which I say "Amen!" We serve God not to earn his grace but out of thankfulness for receiving his grace. But being a servant of Jesus is not always an easy thing. Being a "good and faithful servant" can be downright difficult, almost impossible, at times.

That was the thought going through my head last night, when I went outside with my bandana around my face because of the COVID-19 guidelines. Someone had rung the doorbell at the parsonage and I went outside to talk with him. It was his second visit in three days, and those were the first times I had seen this man since last summer, when he was here a number of times. We had a good conversation the other day. I was able to pray with him and send him off with a meal. Last night was a bit different. He was intoxicated and as we talked I could see that the conversation wasn't going to be heading anywhere that would be constructive.

For better or worse, these kinds of things are a recurring aspect of ministry on the reservation. I have conversations with this man, and a number of other people I've gotten to know on the reservation, that are all over the place. Sometimes they are good but far too often I don't seem to be doing anything beyond simply maintaining a relationship with them, and hoping that the next time our paths cross it will be different. Would Jesus look on my interaction last night and say "Well done, good and faithful servant"? I'm wasn't sure.

Thinking about last night's situation today I am reminded that God gives the gifts, we use them to the best of our ability, and he brings forth the increase. In Galatians 5 we are reminded of a number of the fruits of the Holy Spirit that are active in the lives of Christians. Looking at that list in view of last night I can see that peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness and self-control seemed to be present, to me, in my part of the interaction. And in that light perhaps there was more going on last night than I had first thought.

The Christian life is a marvelous blessing but living day-by-day as a believer in the Lord Jesus can be very difficult at times. We are all going to have moments when serving the Lord well will be a very real challenge. I have struggles. You'll have them too. I think that  the only thing about my experience that may be somewhat unique are the particular details.

May you live by faith, knowing that in the end it is the faithfulness of Jesus that is victorious. Well done, good and faithful servant? I'm going to try to continue serving as faithfully as I can, and leave the rest to him.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.