“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” Matthew 25:21
According to Jesus, these are the happy words all of us want to hear at the end of our lives. The end of this life is a finish line for our struggle with pain and sin.
That’s worth celebrating, but that’s only part of the story, because at the end of this life there’s a new starting line, a new opportunity to worship and serve God in our “eternal calling”.
Our verse today is from the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Jesus used this illustrative story to describe the next part of history he has planned for us. The main point of the story is that our management of the resources we’ve been given in this life will result in being given more responsibility in the life to come.
The moral choices we make in our hearts, the ethical directions we take in our actions will impact our level of reward and responsibility in the life to come.
Faithfulness in the small things really does matter.
This is uncomfortable for some to think about, to them it seems like “the kingdom of heaven” should be exactly the same for everyone. And there’s no doubt, the Bible says living with Christ as our physically present King on earth will be a wonderful experience for every single believer in Christ.
However, when we take an honest look at many teachings of Jesus we discover there’s more in store for us. Each of us will not be sitting on an identical cloud – strumming an identical harp. God is a personal God and he has unique plans for each of us.
Good deeds are the fruit, not the root of our eternal salvation.
We are saved by God’s free grace, through trusting in the finished work of Jesus at the cross and resurrection.
God has given us limited time, energy, ability, and money. The way we use what he’s given us is not the basis of his love for us, but yet another gift of his love. A gift which adds eternal meaning and significance to our lives here and now.
Michael Kanai
Michael received an MA in Sociology from the University of Central Missouri. And an M-Div from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. 