March 25| Based on Matthew 25:23| What Jesus Will ACTUALLY Remember About Your Life
đ Matthew 25:23
âHis master replied, âWell 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 masterâs happiness!â
đ A Gift That Stopped Me in My Tracks đ
Last week, my mother handed me a giftâher hands trembling slightly. "I had this commissioned for you," she whispered. It was a painting of Jesus at Heavenâs gates, His arms wrapped around a man whose face I couldnât see, but somehow knew was meant to be me.
I stood there, frozen, as the question formed in my heart like a thunderclap: What will His first words to me be? Not the rehearsed answers weâve all preparedâbut His actual first words. What will the King of Kings choose to mention when we finally stand face to face?
Three years ago, on what seemed like the most ordinary Tuesday of my life, I learned something about faithfulness Iâll never forget.
It had been one of those days where everything conspired against meâdeadlines crushing in from every side, the house looking like a tornado had personally selected it, my wife out of town helping her sister through a crisis. My eyes burned from staring at spreadsheets, my shoulders ached from the tension, and my patience had worn tissue-paper thin.
Thatâs when Josh appeared at my office door, math book clutched in his hands, eyes already showing that mixture of hope and hesitation children get when they think theyâre about to be turned away.
"Dad," he said, voice small, "I still donât understand these word problems. I tried again, but..." His voice trailed off as he saw my expression.
Every fiber in my body wanted to say, "Not now, buddy. Dadâs got too much on his plate."
The words were already forming, sharp and impatient. I could feel them rising like bile.
But something stopped meânot a voice from heaven, not a lightning boltâjust a quiet thought, piercing through my frustration: "This moment matters more than you realize."
I took a deep breath and closed my laptop. The deadline would have to wait.
"Letâs try something different," I said, moving to the floor. "Bring your book here. And grab that bin of Legos from the playroom."
Confusion gave way to curiosity as he returned with the colorful blocks. We spent the next forty-five minutes building physical representations of each problemâlittle Lego people sharing apples, trains carrying different numbers of passengers, pizza slices divided among friends.
Iâll never forget the moment it clicked for himâhow his eyes widened, how his whole body straightened with the pure electricity of understanding. "Dad! I see it now! Itâs like the blocks are telling the story the problem is trying to tell!"
He solved the next problem entirely on his own, beaming with pride.
That night, after heâd gone to bed, I sat alone in the silence of my office. Those forty-five minutes wouldnât appear on any resume. They wouldnât increase my bank account. No one would ever know about them except Josh and me. Just a dad, a boy, and some Legos on an ordinary Tuesday night.
⨠Spiritual Insight â¨
It was there, in that quiet reflection, that Matthew 25:23 suddenly unfurled in my heart with new meaning: "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 masterâs happiness!"
For years, Iâd heard this verse through the filter of extraordinary achievementâbuilding something massive for God, leading thousands, creating a legacy that would echo through generations. But what if some of the "few things" Jesus mentions are these fleeting moments of quiet faithfulness?
What if closing my laptop for my son was, in Heavenâs economy, as significant as closing a million-dollar deal?
Notice the masterâs words carefully. He doesnât say, "Well done, good and famous servant" or "Well done, good and successful servant." He says, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Faithfulness wears the clothes of constancy when no cameras are rolling. It tastes like choosing patience when impatience would make perfect sense. It feels like setting aside your important for someone elseâs urgent, not because itâs strategic, but because itâs right.
Jesusâ ministry has always reminded us of this inverted value system. Yes, He fed the five thousand in spectacular fashion. But He also noticed a widowâs two small coins. He healed crowds, but also touched isolated lepers when no audience applauded. He taught multitudes, but also washed the dirt from between His disciplesâ toes. In Godâs economy, faithful presence in small moments might be the truest measure of spiritual wealth.
Our culture frantically celebrates the viral, the trending, the numerically impressive. But Godâs gaze seems perpetually drawn to faithfulness in the hidden placesâwhere love costs something real but earns no earthly reward.
đ Reflect đ
Now when I look at that painting my mother gave me, I see beyond the obvious beauty of Christâs welcome. I imagine His first words to me, and theyâre nothing like I once expected:
"Adam, remember that Tuesday night when you put down your work to help your frustrated son? Remember when your daughter tested the very limits of your patience, and instead of words youâd regret, you stepped away to pray first? Remember those nights washing dishes, feeling completely unseen, wondering if Iâd forgotten youâbut you kept believing anyway? I collected every one of those moments. I treasured them. Nothing was wasted. Nothing went unnoticed."
Perhaps the most profound legacy we leave isnât built of grand spiritual achievements that make others marvel, but of a thousand ordinary moments where we chose to be faithful when only God was watching.
đ¤ Closing Invitation đ¤
Today, I invite you to see the sacred hiding in your ordinary. That interrupted work meeting when your child needed attention? Sacred ground. That meal you prepared for your family when you were bone-tired? Holy offering. The patience you showed when no one would have blamed you for losing it? Worship in its purest form.
When faithfulness feels unseen and thankless, remember: the God who numbers the stars also counts your silent acts of love. And one day, when you hear those wordsâ"Well done, good and faithful servant"âyouâll discover that Heaven kept a perfect record of your ordinary faithfulness, and that nothing, absolutely nothing, was ever small in His eyes.
Take a moment this week to pause and look at your own "ordinary Tuesdays." Where are the hidden Lego moments in your lifeâthe ones no one will ever applaud but God sees clearly? Challenge yourself to notice one small act of faithfulness today and offer it to Him with a smile, knowing itâs building something eternal. Share this story with a friend who needs a reminder that their unseen efforts matter, and letâs keep encouraging each other to treasure the small stuffâbecause in Godâs eyes, itâs the big stuff! đ
An Invitation to go DeeperâŚ.
If todayâs message spoke to you, join the FaithLabz 30-Day Prayer Challenge and strengthen your connection with Godâs unshakable love. You are never aloneâletâs grow together!
