Some days I simply CANNOT wait until I get to heaven.
Now don’t take that the wrong way. I’m not looking for an early way out or anything. But on my bad AND good days, sometimes the idea of heaven is so intoxicating.
Our hearts desire to be there. A place with no pain. A place with no sad tears. A place with no suffering. And most of all… a place with JESUS.
But in the meantime, we are called to live abundantly on this earth, seeking to glorify Him in all we do, through loving and serving Him.
What a privilege that is!
This brings me to our Hidden Ah-Ha for the week… (Actually, this verse is probably one of the more popular verses of our “Hidden Ah-Ha” series.)
That’s right. It’s straight out of Matthew from the Parable of the Talents… A powerful phrase that I pray God says to me when I reach heaven’s gate.
“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!’” ~Matthew 25:21 NIV
To fully grasp the magnitude of this verse, we need to understand the context and the parable in whole.
Here’s the abridged version: This Parable is primarily using the gifts God has given us wisely so that when He returns (or calls us home,) He is glorified.
In the parable, the Master (aka Jesus) gives three servants a different number of talents to care for while He is away. (In this case, the talents are bags of gold– but they can also refer to our gifts/talents/abilities.) Anywho, the first servant, who received five talents, invests it and doubles the Master’s money. So he gets praised with our Hidden Ah-Ha verse, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!” (YAY!)
The same goes for servant #2. He invested the two talents the Master gave him and receives the same encouraging accolades as servant #1.
Then we come to servant #3. (Sigh… You can probably see where this is going.) The final servant hoarded the one talent he was given. He buried it because he was afraid of losing it… But guess what? His master is TICKED.
Master’s response? “You wicked, lazy servant.”
OUCH.
I don’t know about you, but I would really prefer to use the gifts/talents God has given me to bring Him glory like servants #1 and #2 so that I will be greeted with a “Well done!” when I enter those pearly gates. Whatcha think?
Before I wrap up, I want to share with you a vision I had the other night right before I drifted to sleep. I was praying about this verse, and saw this:
I had arrived in heaven and stood before Jesus. It was clear that I didn’t know what to do. (Cue “I Can Only Imagine” song here.) After a moment, I broke from my silent stand and fell sobbing (happy tears) into Jesus’ arms. He hugged me tightly and stroked my hair. He tipped my head back and kissed me gently on the forehead. He looked directly into my eyes, and with a subtle smile whispered “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
I am tearing up just revisiting that thought. (And I am writing this in a public place. Let me compose myself. Ahem.)
Can you imagine Jesus saying that to you and how it would feel? Pretty incredible, huh?
One more thing… Please don’t take this post the wrong way and assume we have to DO stuff to earn Jesus’ love. His grace is a FREE give, available to ALL who invite Him into their hearts. However, we have the blessed privilege to serve Him during our time on earth, bringing Him glory and experiencing abundant life even BEFORE we reach heaven’s gate.
So which servant are you? Are you one to “double His money” or are you too afraid to get moving and invest? Be encouraged. Seek Him out. Serve Him.
And when that incredible day arrives when you meet Him face to face, He will undoubtedly greet you with a smile and that powerful seven word phrase:
“Well done, my good and faithful servant!”
Serving Him,
“His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’” ~Matthew 25:21 MSG
(Comment here if you feel so moved.)
