Goodness (2)

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21

When you stand at the judgment seat of Christ, you’ll have one final opportunity to hear the word good: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Note, He doesn’t say well thought or well intentioned but well done! You’ll be rewarded for what you do. On that day, God will zero in on your actions, not your opinions or intentions. Goodness should be the last thing you think about when you go to bed and the first thing you think about when you wake. The Bible says, “Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct really pure and upright?” (Proverbs 20:11 NIV). You know what you’re really like on the inside, but the only you others see is from the outside. One Christian leader wrote, “Talk is cheap. No matter how much you claim to be a good person, the only public measuring stick is your actions. You may think that by being good you’re not doing a lot of good. But never underestimate the power of even one person to exert tremendous influence by simply doing the right thing, at the right place and at the right time.” Mother Teresa always shied away from the limelight. She saw herself as a servant, not a star. Her greatest desire wasn’t to be famous but to be faithful. As a result, she ended up touching the lives of multitudes even though her only thought was to help the next hurting person. Among her favourite scriptures were these words given to us by Christ: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these…of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40 NIV). So today, seek to do good.

Bible in a year: Luke 10:1-24 and Ps 57-59