Have you ever received a promotion at a job before? That can be an exciting day right? A day filled with happiness. A day of promotion is a day of affirmation for a job well done. But it’s also a day where you receive more responsibility right? It’s the kind of day we see in the passage we are looking at today.
In Matthew 25:20 – 23 Jesus says…
20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Last week we looked at verses 14 – 19 of Matthew 25. We learned that the day Jesus returns will be like the day the boss man returns and wants to know what you’ve done with the business he entrusted to you. Nothing you have belongs to you. God alone is the owner of all things. And the day he returns will be like a day of settling accounts.
Some people will be found faithful and some people will be found wasteful. In the verses we just looked at we learn that there is joy to be found in being faithful stewards. I always say that there can be no real faithfulness until the consequences of wastefulness are worse than the rewards of faithfulness.
In these verses we catch a glimpse of the rewards of faithfulness. Both faithful stewards invested what was entrusted to them wisely and then received a reward for their faithful stewardship. The master said to them both “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (21; 23) So the reward here is three fold. Affirmation, promotion and joy.
The master affirmed his faithful stewards. He told them that they had done well and that they were good and trustworthy. He also promoted his faithful stewards. He told them that since they had been faithful with small things he would promote them to be in charge more things. Finally the master invited his faithful stewards into joy-filled presence with him. Affirmation, promotion and joy.
Affirmation for us comes in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Because of his faithfulness we can walk in obedient faithfulness. Because of Christ we can receive the affirmation we long for in a job well done by our Savior. The promise of the gospel is that we will be promoted to a Heaven that is full of the joyful presence of a Savior we don’t deserve.
So how do we become faithful stewards? We become faithful stewards by resting in the affirmation of the cross of Christ. We will never gain affirmation or acceptance through our works. We become faithful stewards by looking forward to the hope of Heaven. The promises of Heaven are what motivate our hearts towards faithful obedience.
This kind of heart change enables us to behave like faithful stewards. What does it look like to be a faithful steward? Faithful stewards take the things that have been entrusted to them and they invest those things in the kingdom of the Master who gave everything for them. Faithful stewards behave this way because they are looking forward to the affirmation, promotion and joy of Heaven.
That’s my prayer for us. My prayer is that we would become faithful stewards who rest in the affirmation of the cross and look forward to the promise of promotion in Heaven where we’ll be in the presence of the joy of our Savior.