Original Blog Date: 01-25-2007
If you have a boss, are you the kind of person that is just as faithful when the boss is away as when the boss is near? Can your boss trust you to continue on as if he/she were present? If you are married, do you support your spouse when they are not around and you're in the presence of others? Can you be depended on by others to keep your word? Do you understand loyalty to someone else?
Faithfulness is going to be so important when we stand before God someday. Do you know that God himself has intrusted us with his kingdom and is going to hold us accountable as to how we performed?
Consider this passage of scripture (Jesus is speaking about the End of time and the "last days"). I believe we are in the last of the last days:
Matthew 24:45-51
"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (NIV)
Jesus Christ will return again soon and he will expect us to have his 'house' in order. What are we going to do while our Master is away? Are we going to feed his sheep as he commanded us to? Are we going to be found making disciples, seeking the lost, clothing and feeding those who are naked and hungry, and building his eternal kingdom when he gets back? Are we going to take what he commanded us to do seriously?
We all need to remember who it is that we are going to give an account TO. When we know WHO our master is, then we will more likely keep our priorities straight. I'm not going to have to give an account to my Pastor some day, or my church, or the program director, or my wife or kids but ONLY the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. This should really set us free when we understand that. He alone is my High Priest and He alone is my ultimate Master and Lord.
Faithfulness is so important because it's easy to forget what our mission in life is as we're going through the hum-drum of everyday living. Faithfulness is even more difficult when a very high percentage of everyone else seems they could care less about serving a make-believe Master. We'd better be awake and be a modern day Noah as we go throughout this life. Don't pattern your life after what others in this world are doing but rather, follow after Christ and his kingdom and let our minds be renewed by Him.
When the flood came and carried everyone away to their deaths, Noah and his family alone were saved. Everyone had laughed at his preaching of the impending flood and everyone was eating and drinking and partying when it came and swept them away. In the same way will be Christ's coming. He is going to come at an hour when NO ONE is expecting it. Everyone is going to be living it up, eating, drinking, marrying, partying and having a good old time and then in the blink of an eye, He'll be here. There won't be time to adjust or be sorry or anything else, so the time to be faithful is RIGHT NOW.
Jesus said in Luke 12:35: "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning". We have to stay ready as a solider stays ready for battle. To keep our lamps burning we have to be prepared. We have to make a conscious effort to be ready or otherwise we'll be found asleep.
In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus tells 2 parables, both about wise and foolish people. One group prepared, one group not prepared. One group who had made preparations and one group who did not. 5 wise virgins who brought extra oil and 5 who did not. 2 guys who increased their talents and 1 who foolishly burried his and did nothing while his master was away. In both, the master came and the foolish were unprepared, but even worse, they were UNFAITHFUL. They knew what they were supposed to do, and did not do it.
Jesus said that to whom much is given, much is required. We have all been given much and Christ requires much from us. He doesn't require anything that He knows we can't accomplish and He will always be there to help us but we must be faithful to Him.
When Moses went up to get the sacred commandments of God, he spent a great deal of time there and Aaron at one point allowed the people to sway him to build an idol of Gold. Can you believe that? Aaron! He KNEW better. The people persuaded him by saing that "we don't know what happened to this fellow called Moses, so make us some gods who will go before us". Aaron could have easily said "look how far God has taken us so far? Are you crazy!", but he didn't. Moses' return took them all by surprise. When Moses came down off the mountain, he ground the golden calf to powder and sprinkled it in the water and made them all drink it. He then said "Who is on the Lord's side, come over to me!". The tribe of Levites ran over to Moses' side and then Moses had them kill off everyone else with the sword whether they were friends or family. God takes sin seriously and He especially takes serious the handling of his Kingdom. We have been entrusted a great prize and we need to be sure to be found good and faithful servants.
In Him
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