Keep Trying

“Well done, good and faithful servant.” Mt 25:23 NKJV
In Discipleship Journal Paul Thigpen writes: “I remember coming home one afternoon to discover that the kitchen I had worked so hard to clean only a few hours before, was now a terrible wreck. My young daughter had obviously been busy ‘cooking’ and the ingredients were scattered, along with dirty bowls and utensils, across the counters and floor. I was not happy with the situation. Then, as I looked a little more closely at the mess I spied a tiny note on the table, clumsily written and smeared with chocolaty fingerprints. The message was short—‘I’m makin somethin 4 you, dad’—and it was signed, ‘your angel.’ In the midst of that disarray, and despite my irritation, joy suddenly sprang up in my heart, sweet and pure. My attention had been redirected from the problem to the little girl I loved. As I encountered her in that brief note, I delighted in her. With her simple goodness in focus, I could take pleasure in seeing her hand at work in the situation that seemed otherwise disastrous.” In the parable of the talents, Jesus pointed out that the two servants who invested and multiplied what had been entrusted to them received the Master’s highest commendation: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” On the other hand, the servant who buried his gifts rather than risk and lose, received the Master’s harshest condemnation: “You wicked and lazy servant” (v. 26 NKJV). Commendation or condemnation: which will you receive? God doesn’t say, “If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all.” No, He’s pleased when you try, make mistakes, learn from them and grow. So keep trying!

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