So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, "Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them." His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." He also who had received two talents came and said, "Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them." His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord."
Matthew 25:20-23

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
Matthew 25:31-33

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

 

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant" - Matthew 25:21

It has been suggested that to live one's life well, one should imagine his own funeral. How will you be remembered? Imagine the things you would like said, this theory says, and live so that it is the truth. Admittedly, this is an over simplification, but it does illustrate the principle of purpose-filled living, of beginning with the end in mind. Yet for the Christian, there is one subtle flaw in this theory: it motivates us to please men, and not God.

This is not to say that pleasing men is in itself an altogether bad thing. Jesus Himself said the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. But the greatest, He said, is to love the Lord. Not only to love Him, but to love Him "with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). In other words, with everything you have, holding nothing back.

I can live my life to please men. I can do all the right things, say all the right words, know all the right people. But people are easily deceived, and my outward manner does not conceal from God the blackness of my heart. I can arrange the affairs of my life so that when people gather round my coffin to bid me farewell, there will be a fond remembrance and a tearful goodbye. But in so doing, I am preparing for the wrong event.

Scripture teaches that all believers will one day stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, where He will judge the works of our hands and the motive of our hearts. It should be the goal of every believer to one day hear Him utter those sweet words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Oh! The indescribable joy of having His approval in the secret places of my heart! Let this be my legacy, rather than the praises of men who see only what I am willing to reveal.

Your life, from this day forward, is a blank slate. How will you fill it? Whom will you seek to please? Two things are certain: you will one day die, and you will one day stand before Christ. You will be remembered by men, and judged by the Lord. My prayer for you is that His judgment will be, "Well done."

 

Copyright © 2004 David Frazier