Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.Peter said,Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?And the Lord said,Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.- Luke 12:35-48
From these verses we can see a variety of slaves, namely:
- The slave who is ready
- The slave who abused the other slaves
- The slave who knew the master's will but was not ready
- The slave who did not know the master's will and was not ready
The Faithful Slave
Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds awake when he comes.
Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
This is the ideal, the slave who knows his master and his will, the one who delights in it enough to be ready at all times, whether he knows his master is coming soon or no. The work may be hard, but the slave knows that the master will be pleased.
This is the Christian who has done what God has required of him, and has done it well and wholeheartedly and was prepared when God came for him.
The Unfaithful Slave
My master is delayed in coming.
Opposed to the faithful slave is this one, he, when his master's back was turned, beat and abused his fellow slaves and got himself drunk with wine. Even a kind-hearted master would not tolerate this behavior for long.
Cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful
The Lazy Slave
Knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will.
We have now come to the slave that I would most like to focus on, the slave that knew the master's will, but did not do it entirely. Of the so-called Christians in the world today, I am afraid that most of them would classify either in this or the previous category, they are either unfaithful or spiritually lazy.
When a master left certain things under the care of his slaves, he expected them to do their best. He would not give the slave something that they could not handle, but give them what they would do best at. So too did God. He has given us both talent and ability, and expects us to use them as He has decreed. As we will see later, God does not expect us to come to Him one day with exactly what He has given us, but that He wants us to be reaping returns from what He has given, that we be actively using our gifts for His glory. This does not always mean that we have to go into ministry, but that we can use our gifts in everyday life. That whatever we do, eat or drink, word or deed, that all is done for the glory of God. Unfortunately it is easy to separate God from our everyday lives, there is much to distract us and keep us from continually focusing on Him. But this is not an excuse. The command is this, that we be ready for His return, both now and later, in all seasons.
Unlike the previous slave, this slave still manages to stay in the master's service, but stays by the skin of his teeth, and his reward is not as great as the slave who both knew the master's will and did what he commanded. So let me ask you this, are you doing what the Lord has required of you? Are you prepared if He should come today calling for you?
The Ignorant Slave
Did not know, and did what deserved a beating.
I feel that this slave is less common that most people would claim it to be, especially now, in todays world, where the Bible is more and more accessible to everyone, no matter their language.
All verses are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
Please note that this post is still a work in progress, and will be edited further.
Please note that this post is still a work in progress, and will be edited further.
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