Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

Matthew 25:23 “His master said 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.’”

In this parable Jesus tells of three men who were given talents by their master, left with the responsibility of managing their talents while he was gone. When the master returned, he found that the servant who had five talents and two talents were faithful and had multiplied what was given to them by their master. The servant who was given one talent, who was a servant of the master, displeased his master because he did nothing with it except hide it.

When we die and meet the Lord, will He say “well done, good and faithful servant” to us? If we believe in the Lord, but have not works to show our faith, can we say that we have been good and faithful to Him? Simply believing does not warrant the blessing of the Lord that someone has been good and faithful. We can see in James 2:19 that even the demons believe that God is One and shudder. The servant entrusted with one talent knew his master and knew his master would return, but excused his behavior by saying “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours” (Matthew 25:24-25).

So if we long to hear those words “well done, good and faithful servant”, is it enough to simply be a servant, but live how we want? Or should we be actively serving one another for the Lord? Should we be bearing fruits of righteousness that bring Him glory when He returns for us? May the Lord find all His children good and faithful. Let us strive daily to please Him with our thoughts, our words, and our actions.