Be Found Faithful (May 10, 2023)

“Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2)

Some folks are resourceful, using their time, talents, and finances wisely, while others tend to be wasteful, squandering the assets with which a loving God has blessed them. Having been called by Jesus Christ to love and serve our neighbors and proclaim the truth of God’s Word to the world, Christians must be good stewards of God’s gifts. That means using our divinely-derived resources to serve God’s purposes, not our own self-interests, and to bless others, not ourselves.

In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus relates to his disciples the Parable of the Talents, a story that likens the Kingdom of God to a master who, before embarking upon a long trip, entrusts his goods to his three servants, giving each differing amounts of money or talents. Upon his return, this lord evaluates the stewardship of his servants according to how faithful they have been to make shrewd investments that yield a handsome profit.

Two of the servants invested wisely and doubled their master’s holdings, but the third hid the money entrusted to him and earned nothing. This lord condemned the unprofitable one, calling him a “wicked and lazy servant.” However, the master commended both servants who acted wisely and exercised good stewardship, saying: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler many things.” (Matthew 25:23)

Which of these are you? What a different world it would be if we all lived with the aim of hearing our heavenly Master, after testing our earthly works, say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” The eternal rewards that’ll come with hearing Jesus applaud our servanthood and stewardship will far exceed the sacrifices and sufferings required to obey His commands to love one another and share the gospel with lost souls. As stewards of Christ, let’s be found faithful!

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (1 Peter 4:10)