Matthew 24:45-51

Rachel Workman: ⁴⁵ “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. ⁴⁶ If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. ⁴⁷ I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. ⁴⁸ But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ ⁴⁹ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? ⁵⁰ The master will return unannounced and unexpected, ⁵¹ and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I like to think I'm the faithful sensible servant but I know all too well that my ideal of faithful and God's idea of faithful are two different things. We all like to think we're "good". But really not one of us is good. There are a lot of areas that I'm still unfaithful in. I lack grace and mercy. But where I fall short God covers me.

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Allen Michaels:  ⁴⁵ “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? ⁴⁶ It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. ⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. Jesus asks us to spend the time of waiting taking care of his people and doing his work here on earth, both within the church and outside of it. This is the best way to prepare for Christ’s return. ⁴⁸ But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. ⁵⁰ 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. Knowing that Christ’s return will be sudden and unexpected should motivate us always to be prepared. We are not to live irresponsibly—sitting around and waiting, doing nothing; seeking self-serving pleasure; using his delayed arrival as an excuse not to do God’s work of building his kingdom; developing a false security based on precise calculations of events; or letting our curiosity about the end times divert us from doing God’s work. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.