{"id":2086,"date":"2019-03-22T13:42:57","date_gmt":"2019-03-22T17:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pibcny.com\/blog\/?p=2086"},"modified":"2019-06-17T10:22:14","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T14:22:14","slug":"well-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pibcny.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/22\/well-done\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWell Done!\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On March 22, 1996, Mom stepped into the arms of her precious Savior, enjoying His loving embrace. I had seen her the previous night but it was unlike any time before. Instead of feeling her warm and loving embrace, seeing that precious smile and hearing her gentle voice speaking words of love and grace, she lay there almost lifeless\u2014a shell of her former self. She had finished her mission and she was getting ready to stand before her Master. She had one leg of the journey left to take. What was awaiting her was a glorious sight and the gracious sound of her Savior saying, \u201cWell done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful. Enter into the joy of thy Lord<\/em>.\u201d She had \u201cfought the good fight<\/em>,\u201d she had \u201cfinished [her] course,<\/em>\u201d she had \u201ckept the faith<\/em>\u201d (2 Timothy 4:7). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This answer comes from the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. The message gives us a great challenge to consider as we consider ourselves. As I meditate upon these words in light of the memorial of my mother\u2019s passing I ask the question, \u201cWhat does \u2018well done<\/em>\u2019 mean?\u201d As the master commended his servant with these words, he described his servant by saying that he was \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>.\u201d In this passage, the word \u201cgood<\/em>\u201d speaks of being beneficial, profitable and useful. The word \u201cfaithful<\/em>\u201d speaks of being trustworthy. The master commends his servant for being \u201cgood<\/em>\u201d because of his usefulness, being profitable to the cause of his master. He also was commended for being \u201cfaithful<\/em>\u201d as he showed himself to be trustworthy in obedience to his master\u2019s commands. Following this phrase, \u201cgood and faithful,<\/em>\u201d the master says, \u201cThou hast been faithful over a few things<\/em>.\u201d The \u201cfew things<\/em>\u201d are the \u201cfive talents<\/em>\u201d that he had been given the responsibility of. This servant had proved that he was faithful and could be trusted to execute the commands his master had given him. He simply did was his master would have done if he had done it himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next question that\ncomes to my mind is, \u201cAm I being a \u2018good\nand faithful servant<\/em>\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Thinking back on mom\u2019s life I see a \u201cgood and faithful servant.<\/em>\u201d She was a \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>\u201d wife who sacrificially loved my dad. They were a great team, working together to be \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>\u201d in their God-given responsibilities. Mom was a \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>\u201d mother, raising us children with sacrificial love often putting our needs in front of her own. We knew that we were loved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Alongside my father, she was also a \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>\u201d missionary, advancing the cause of her Master, Jesus Christ, as they took the Gospel to the Banwaon (ban-wa-own) people located in the mountains of Mindanao, Philippines. These people had never heard of Jesus Christ until dad and mom stepped out in obedience to God\u2019s call for them to go and take His most precious Word\u2014the message of the hope of eternal life\u2014to a group of people living in fearful bondage. They practiced animism, worshipping the evil spirits and sacrificing animals to them. Now, these same people are free, living with great joy instead of great fear. They also, enjoy a relationship with Jesus as they seek to live as \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>\u201d servants advancing the cause of their new Master Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mom was also \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>\u201d as she taught these\npeople how to read and write in their own language, which up to that point had\nbeen an unwritten language. Today, they can read the very Word of God and soon\nwill have their own copy of the New Testament in their own language thanks to\nthe tireless efforts of Albert and Lynne, other \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>\u201d servants of the Lord and others before them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
One of our prayer cards<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As I look back on Mom\u2019s life, I am grateful to God! He gave me the privilege of being raised and cared for by my parents\u2014these \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>\u201d servants of God. I realize that, with these words, Mom sounds like a saint who never did anything wrong. The truth is, she was a just like us flawed souls making mistakes and needing to trust God at every turn. During her last couple of years of her life, she would lay in bed weakened by cancer and I would quietly go into her room and kneel down beside her bed. In these moments she would often say, \u201cI\u2019m just a dumb sheep.\u201d This wasn\u2019t a statement of discouragement but the reality of someone who knew that there were more areas of their life that needed to be addressed. She knew that she had flaws. She knew that she had so much to learn. But she also knew her Shepherd. She knew that He loved and cared for her. She knew the reality of His love as her Good Shepherd carried her \u201cthrough the<\/em> valley of the shadow of death<\/em>\u201d (Psalm 23:4), knowing there was something beyond the suffering she was enduring as He was carrying her \u201cthrough<\/em>\u201d this valley. Because of this truth, she was able to rest in Him\u2014she \u201cfeared no evil<\/em>\u201d\u2014because she knew her Shepherd was ever-present carrying her \u201cthrough,<\/em>\u201d providentially orchestrating the details of her trial, her pain, her suffering. She knew \u201cWho\u201d her Shepherd was! She knew that He gave His life for her in the greatest demonstration of love as He paid the penalty for her sins (Romans 5:8). He was not only her Shepherd but also her Savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some time ago I heard a\npoem by Linda Ellis called \u201cThe Dash,\u201d which speaks of the little line between\nthe dates of our birth and death. This little \u201cdash\u201d represents our life and\nhow we are living it. She writes, \u201cFor it matters not, how much we own, the\ncars\u2026the house\u2026the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend\nour dash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 19 years that I had the privilege of knowing Mom, I can honestly say that she spent her \u201cdash\u201d well. She was a \u201cgood and faithful servant<\/em>\u201d who sought no glory for herself but glory for her Savior\u2014her Master Jesus Christ. The \u201cproof is in the pudding\u201d as they say. Her fingerprints of memories, of how she touched<\/em> the lives of others, remind us of how she \u201clived and loved and how she spent her dash.\u201d We give testimony of her tenderness, her grace, and love and most importantly how much she loved her Savior and wanted others to know His love as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mom was \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>\u201d because she was\nuseful to her Master. She was trustworthy with the responsibilities that He had\ngiven her. She was profitable to the cause of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God has called His\nfollowers to be \u201csalt<\/em>\u201d\nand \u201clight<\/em>\u201d\nin the world (Matthew 5:13-14). The Bible tells us that He \u201cworks in you both to\nwill and to do of His good pleasure<\/em>\u201d (Philippians 2:13). His \u201cgood pleasure<\/em>\u201d for each of us is to be\ngood image-bearers reflecting His light to the world in which we live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet your light so shine before men,\nthat they may see your good works, and glorify your Father <\/strong>which is in\nheaven.\u201d\u2014Matthew 5:16<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God desires to use\nthose who are receptive to His working in them to influence others to respond\nin kind. God has placed within each of our lives those whose fingerprints\nremind and encourage us to look outside ourselves seeking to show kindness, blessing\nothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd be ye kind one to another,\ntenderhearted [compassionate<\/em>], forgiving one another, even as God<\/strong>\nfor Christ\u2019s<\/strong> sake hath forgiven you.\u201d\u2014Ephesians 4:32<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this thought in mind, my reflections turn inward asking, \u201cFather, can I look forward to hearing, \u2018Well done: thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful<\/em>\u2019? Am I living a life that points people to Christ and His love? Do others see me living and loving and spending my dash to Your glory<\/em>? Am I being \u201cgood and faithful<\/em>\u201d in my service to You?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about you? How are you spending your dash<\/em>? Are you seeking to live a life of God-honoring praise? When you stand before your Maker, will you hear the words, \u201cWell done: thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n