MasterTruth

Aim For "Well Done"

When it’s all said and done for us in this life, we will praise God. But God will also praise some of us. Recall that famous phrase from the book of Matthew, Well done thou good and faithful servant. That is praise from God to man. What would it take to hear that from God?

The whole story is found in Matt. 25:14-30. It begins with, For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. In this case, it was money, and he expected his servants to invest and multiply it until he returned. Some did; one didn’t.

Let’s jump to the application. After His death, Jesus traveled to a far country (heaven), and He left us with His goods—His word, His spirit, the message of the gospel (Christ in you, the hope of glory), spiritual gifts, etc. He will return someday, and He expects to see that we invested and multiplied His goods.

So the question for us is, what have we done with the goods He left us with? We should want to hear the praise of God… Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

He mentioned faithfulness twice here. It’s that important. It means stewarding well the goods He gave us.

We all have to fight the urge to hoard all the goods for ourselves, or to bury and ignore them. For me, I think this calls for an evaluation before God—laying out everything He has given me and asking how I’m using/not using it for Him. Am I faithful with the spiritual gifts He has given me? The Word of God that I know? The gospel? My talents? Is it all channeled toward Him? Am I using what I have in others’ lives?

At the end of my life, I want to hear Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Faithfulness is something revealed over time. In that story in Matthew, the other option was to hear the Lord say, Thou wicked and slothful servant.

Faithful or slothful?

We live in a slothful age, so if we let inertia rule, we will be that wicked and slothful servant, living for ourselves. It’s time to invest and multiply.

Jody

The Ultimate Test

Motives are tricky things, wouldn’t you say? Those invisible rascals are hard to determine, but we try to figure them out—in others. Motives are the why behind the what, and we feel we have to get to the bottom of them. If we estimate that others’ motives aren’t sparkling clean, we have a problem with that. I believe many conflicts stem from judging why “that person” just did or said what he or she did. We lower our estimate of that person—sometimes for good.

That is a rodeo the apostle Paul did not ride. Only he came at it from the other side. He experienced others’ questioning him, and he predecided he would not entertain those thoughts. Here’s why:

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. (1Cor. 4:3-5)

Wow. Paul didn’t even judge his own motives. He left it up to God who knows better than we do what’s in our hearts. I know it’s not very flattering, but here’s what the Bible says about our precious hearts: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jer. 17:9) Paul got that. He just left it up to God to sort it all out in the proper time.

Here he just stripped away an entire thought pattern. What are we to do instead of “judging everything before its time?”

Well, knowing that God is going to have a look at everything when He comes and expose the hidden things—the counsels of our hearts, it would be a good idea to clean things up on the inside. It’s time to start casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Cor. 10:5)

It’s also time to evaluate our thought life—considering it is up for evaluation and revelation when He makes His final judgment. Paul outlines approved thought material: whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. (Phil. 4:8)

Even with all that, we aren’t sure if our thoughts and hearts are acceptable with God. So here’s the prayer we ought to pray: Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psa. 139:23-24)

I’m intrigued that Paul ended his teaching on the topic of God bringing to light hidden things of darkness with the idea, not that God would condemn man, but that God would praise man. I hope there turns out to be praiseworthy things revealed about my life. And by the way, what things does God praise man for? We will look at that next time.

Jody

Time to Clean our Spiritual Glasses

If you’re like me, you can easily think of brothers and sisters in Christ who you are reasonably sure won’t make it spiritually. Their life is a mess. They can’t seem to get things together. Maybe you’ve counseled them before, and here they are—back in the same miserable situation. You almost want to give up on them.

I have some good news and bad news for you. Which would you like first? The bad news? Your (our) estimation of God isn’t big enough, and we may not know Him as well as we think we do.

The good news? God never gives up on a person, so there is hope for anyone. Hold off on judging your brother or sister in Christ. Soak up a bit of the Savior below and capture His spirit of love, mercy and grace for that person you just thought of (verse references are at the end):

Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.

(Rom. 14:4; Isa. 40:29; Psa. 37:24; Rom 14:3; Heb. 7:25; John 10:28-30; Rom. 8:38-29; Jude 1:24; Psa. 17:5)