Luke 12.41-48

41 Peter said, “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 44 “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 “But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46 the master of that slave 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 assign him a place with the unbelievers. 47 “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

There is a judgment coming to this earth and all the inhabitants of the earth from every time of history.  Every person will stand before God and give an account for what they believed and how they lived their lives.  Peter wants to know if the teaching about God’s judgment is specific for the disciples or if it is for all men.  Jesus makes it clear that all men will be judged, but that they will not all be judged in exactly the same way.  Just as there are billions of people on earth, there will be billions of judgments, all according to the will of the Father and level of revelation we had of Him and His Word.  This is not a matter to be taken lightly.  We would be wise to consider and prepare for this judgment and all its implications.

THE REWARDS FROM GOD: We are called to be faithful and sensible stewards of all God has given us.  All our possessions, abilities and opportunities are untrusted to us by the Father.  He knows about all our strengths and limitations in every aspect of our lives.  His only requirement of us is that we be faithful and sensible.  He gives us responsibilities to fulfill like a steward who is left in charge of running a household.  He is expected to take care of the servants of the house and create an environment that is conducive to productivity.  God is in the business of restoring people to Himself.  His heart is grieved over the fact that there are so many people that are separated from Him by sin.  He has called us to care for and love people.  That includes but is not limited to sharing the Gospel with them.  Too often we get out of balance on how to love people.  One extreme is to only preach the Gospel to people without seeking to serve them and help them with their basic needs.  The other extreme is to focus exclusively on their physical needs without ever sharing the Gospel with them.  The balance is to genuinely love them and demonstrate that love by serving and blessing them both physically and spiritually.  There is no place for meanness in the lives of believers.  When we are faithful to use all we have to love and serve others, Jesus promises that there will be eternal rewards.  The faithful steward is eventually promoted to greater and greater responsibility until he eventually is left in charge of all the master’s goods.  God rewards faithfulness with additional responsibility and ability to love others and Him.

THE REJECTION BY GOD: The steward who is not faithful will have a very different experience than the one who is.  There may be some who start well but with the passing of time they begin to think that the Lord will not return.  When men begin to think they are not accountable, they begin to relax their standards.  It may start out as something very small and when they don’t experience immediate judgment, they may begin to think there will never be a judgment.  Then they begin a downward spiral that eventually leads to very destructive behavior.  They begin to beat the slaves and then begin drinking and neglecting their duties.  Sin usually involves both these tendencies: an abuse of others and an abuse of one’s body.  Satan is out to destroy people.  He uses people do destroy one another and themselves.  The situation gets worse and worse to the point that everyone is miserable.  When we begin to mistreat others, it will not be long until we start mistreating ourselves.  The worst news is that things will only go from bad to worse.  When the Lord returns there will be judgment.  The text uses very graphic language to describe how he will be judged.  He will be cut in pieces and thrown into eternal judgment.  There are consequences for sin and God’s judgment is sure.  He graciously waits for men to repent, but He will not wait forever.  At a time without warning, the Lord will come, and judgment will take place.

THE REQUIREMENTS OF GOD: Faithfulness is the main requirement of God for believers.  Faith is how we join the family of God and faithfulness is the mark of those who believe.  When we are given revelation, abilities and opportunities by God, we are expected to use them to the best of our ability for His glory.  Jesus taught that those who know God’s will and refuse to do it will be punished with many lashes.  However, those who do not know His will and therefor were not obedient to Him would be punished with only a few lashes.  Different people have different levels of knowledge and opportunity.  We will be judged according to that which was given to us.  We have a tendency to compare ourselves with others and either become discouraged because others are more talented or gifted than we are; or we become proud because, in our estimation, we are doing more than someone else.  This is counterproductive and sinful.  God calls us to simply be faithful with what He gives us and not be concerned about what we don’t have or what someone else might have.  We must look to the Lord for strength and help and then strive to be faithful with all He gives.

APPLICATION: Be motivated by the rewards that God has promised for loving and serving people as we await His return.  Understand that God is a just Judge who will severely punish those who reject His will.  Don’t give in to the lies of Satan who wants to destroy us.  Be faithful with all the resources, opportunities and abilities with which God has entrusted you.