The Words We Long to Hear
Matthew 25:23 ESV
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.’
We have now walked through three of the parables Jesus gave to prepare His disciples for His eventual death: the parable of the faithful and unfaithful servant, the parable of the ten virgins, and this past week's parable of the talents.
Why was Jesus so intent on preparing His disciples? Why is He so intent on preparing us?
I find that if we're not intentional with our lives, we can become distracted by things that don't ultimately matter. We can spend an entire lifetime busy and still miss the point. We can accumulate possessions, achievements, and experiences, yet reach the end of our lives wondering whether any of it truly mattered.
The central question of the parable of the talents is this: What are you doing with what has been placed in your hands?
My prayer is that we would take inventory of what God has entrusted to us. Sometimes we convince ourselves that we don't have much. We feel like the servant who received one talent. Yet we learned that even one talent was far more than it appeared. It represented roughly fifteen to twenty years of wages. Sure, it wasn't two talents or five talents, but it was still an incredible amount to steward.
The servant with one talent was afraid. But we must ask, afraid of what? Failure? Not being enough? Taking a risk?
This led him to bury the talent in the ground. When the master returned, he offered excuses for his inactivity. He justified doing nothing with what he had been given.
And here's what is so sobering. This is how the master responded:
"You wicked and lazy servant..."
One day we will all stand before our Master. Jesus is that Master, and there will come a day when we stand face-to-face with Him. Those are not words I want to hear.
Yet this parable is not ultimately about how much we accomplish. I think we often have a distorted view of success. We think success means more money, more achievements, more influence, or even more people in our lives. But God's definition of success is different. What He is looking for is not merely success, but faithfulness.
It was faithfulness that was attributed to the servants who multiplied what they had been given.
A person's success should be measured by their faithfulness to God.
God has uniquely placed you where you are. Some are gifted teachers. Some are entrepreneurs. Some are artists. Some are parents. Some are grandparents. Some are encouragers. Some are builders. Some are leaders. Some are servants faithfully working behind the scenes where few people will ever notice.
The point is not to look around and compare. The point is to faithfully join God in what He is doing with what He has placed in your hands: your influence, your experiences, your resources, your relationships, your gifts, and your life.
You only get one life, and it is brief. Today is a gift. This moment in your life is a gift. And while we wait for the King's return, we are invited to participate in His Kingdom right now—not someday, but today.
So don't bury what God has entrusted to you. Don't allow fear to keep you from faithfulness. Trust the Master today. Trust Him enough to take another step of obedience into whatever He is calling you toward.
I want to encourage you: step forward.
I know it's hard. I know it's scary. But the King of Heaven holds you in the palm of His hand. He hides us under the shadow of His wings.
So go. Invest what He has placed in your hands. Use it for His glory.
Yes, it will likely feel like failure sometimes. Every great artist began with doodles. Every teacher had to learn how to communicate their thoughts. Every poet wrote terrible poems before writing beautiful ones. Growth always begins with imperfect steps.
Michael Jordan once said this:
“I've missed more than nine thousand shots in my career.
I've lost almost three hundred games.
Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.
I've failed over and over and over again in my life.
And that is why I succeed.”
— Michael Jordan
Because one day the King will return. And on that day, the goal will not be that we were the most impressive. The goal will not be that we accumulated the most. The goal will not be that we outperformed everyone around us.
The hope is that we would hear these words:
"Well done, good and faithful servant."
