This post the Lord put in my heart a few days ago but I took my time to hear not the Father's words, but his heart. I sincerely pray that this will not be just another blog or write-up but that you might have his heart as he permitted me to. Only when our heart beats with overbrimming love for him can we walk and work with more than a commitment to his goals but a desire for his desires.
"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. … You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. - Jesus Christ in Revelation 2:2a,3a,4
YHWH does not just love the human race he created, he passionately desires the best for each soul especially those of his household. This best can only be achieved by oneness with his holy Spirit.
Matthew records that after Jesus told his followers in Matthew 24:2 -5 what to watch out for as signs of his coming and the end of the age, he followed it with parables on how to be prepared.
Verses 45 -51 are just for leaders.
“Who is the faithful and sensible (or wise - KJV) servant whose master puts him in charge of the household staff, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will go well with that servant if he is found doing his job when his master comes. 47 Yes, I tell you that he will put him in charge of all he owns. 48 But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is taking his time’; 49 and he starts beating up his fellow servants and spends his time eating and drinking with drunkards; 50 then his master will come on a day the servant does not expect, at a time he doesn’t know; 51 and he will cut him in two and put him with the hypocrites, where people will wail and grind their teeth! Matthew 24 - CJB
It is vital when we read the words of Jesus to remember that he is alive.
I mean the same sentiments he possessed and expressed to his apostles 2000 years ago, are the same sentiments, will, and desire he possesses as he watches and works with us today.
If Jesus puts us in charge of HIS household staff (i.e. other stewards), he considers us faithful. As a wise and faithful leader,
You give them
a. food
b. at times he (Christ) has designated
Your faithfulness will be rewarded.
The contrast to this wise service is not an unfaithful leader but a faithful leader who loses focus and becomes disillusioned.
"...But if that servant..." in verse 48 implies that the faithful steward/servant becomes wicked due to this reasoning: ‘My master is taking his time’' or as the Easy-to-Read [ERV] version puts it, 'that servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon?'
Jesus' words to 'Watch' and 'be ready' for his coming are meant to keep us mindful of not just his assignment, but who we are working for, and therefore, how (i.e. the care with which) we do the work.
According to the parable, disillusionment makes the wicked servant
scornful of Jesus' command to be conscious of his coming
abusive: harsh and beats the other stewards
and self-gratifying.
Please note that he might still be feeding the flock, but as obvious from the parable, Christ expects care and a heart of love in our service. The servant who mistreats his fellow stewards is forgetting that the household is not his but Christ's and a report will be required of him when the Master comes.
The fact that Jesus expected his followers at the time he spoke to live prepared despite knowing he would not come back in their lifetime tells me that his expectation of us still holds today. Working with the heart of Christ requires that we maintain our closeness to him.
“Just as my Father has loved me, I too have loved you; so stay in my love. If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love — just as I have kept my Father’s commands and stay in his love." John 15:9 -10
Consciousness of our Intimacy with Jesus and the need to be prepared and to prepare the household staff means we are always ready for him. For the master (son of man) promised that he will come when the servant is not ready, at a time when the servants are not expecting him. We have been told and therefore no leader or follower has any excuse to do differently. He is our ability.
" Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Hebrews 13:20-21
"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household" Ephesians 2:19
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
-Jesus the Master. Matthew 24:35, 42 - 44. NIV
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