Matthew 25:21 - A Servants Trust

Matthew 25:21 “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!’”

Being a servant of God is quite prestigious. It is not something to be taken lightly or half-heartedly.  In our final look at what is involved with being a servant of Christ, we look at the authority and responsibility given to us as bond servants.

A bond servants, special and dedicated entirely to the master, speaks with the full authority of his master when on his masters business. He has the ability to make and fulfill binding contracts on his master's behalf, and what the servant says in the master's name was fully and legally binding on the master. For an example we look at Joseph, a slave in the house of Potiphar. Joseph was so obedient and open to the will of Potiphar, his master, that “Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned....So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph i charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.” (Genesis 39:4b,6a) Joseph was entrusted with the responsibility and the authority to act in Potiphar's stead. Later on, we find that after Potiphar's wife's accusations and Joseph's jail time, he took those same skills he had honed and learned running Potiphar's household and put them to further use running the entire kingdom of Egypt (Genesis 41:41-45)!

Another good example of a servant is Elisha's servant Gehazi. (2 Kings 5) Gehazi had all the responsibility and trust that Joseph had, and yet his greed was his downfall. He had the stewardship of everything Elisha had, and his job was to ensure that Elisha could spend all of his time doing God's work and studying and spending time with God. Yet when Gehazi saw that Elisha was not taking anything from Naaman, he snuck away and lied to Naaman in the name of Elisha! He exceeded the authority he had been given by stepping out of Elisha's will, and then he further compounded it by tresspassing on Elisha's authority outside of that will. The result of that was that Gehazi received Naaman's leprosy.

To be a good servant, one must always be aware of what needs to be done, and to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible; but one must be knowledgeable and have a great understanding of the master's will and desires in order to do this. One must be responsible and a good steward, ensuring the stability of the master's lifestyle; yet one must have learned the basics of stewardship and care-taking before taking such a job. One must also not be afraid of using and standing in the master's authority; but one must never abuse the trust involved with it. It is difficult, but very rewarding. A servant of such caliber is of unmentionable value to his master!

This week, lets focus on becoming the best servant of Christ we can be, allowing Him to trust us with everything. Are we ready for such a challenge? If you are like me, probably not, but we can certainly learn and grow our skills so that when the greater challenge and responsibility is ready, we are too. Right now we have been entrusted with little, but soon, very soon, much is coming!

What a work to do for Jesus! Work for you and work for me,
Work for all who trust His merit, all who would His glory see;
Though we fill a lowly station, and our talent be but small,
Though we are but young disciples, we must heed the Savior’s call.
                                                                                      A. Parke Burgess, 1888.