"Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant!"

In church on Sunday, we sang a song that talked about at the end of life, what we want to hear is, "Well done, good and faithful servant." As we sang, I thought about it and realized that I really want to hear that at the end of my life when I stand before God. And while I don't believe good works are what gets us into Heaven, I do believe that when we know Jesus as Savior and recognize all He has done for us, out of gratitude, we will do good works. Our life should reflect who we are in Christ and we should be His hands and feet here on earth. People should see a difference in me because I am a Christ-follower.

I have been trying to think how that would play out in my everyday life. How do I need to act and live so I will have lived faithfully and well? We all like to hear that we have done a good job. Our kids love to hear it and our husbands do, too. It's not that we need praise to keep on doing what is right. It just is nice when others recognize it and affirm us in doing the right thing. Just think what it will be like when God says it to us!

But how do I/we get to that point? How do we intentionally live that way? One of the ways is in our devotion to the Lord. Do we seek Him out in prayer and His Word? I keep asking God to make me hungry for His Word, so much so that if I miss a day, I will feel like I have really missed out on something. He has really been speaking to my heart as I have prayed that. Second, I need to be intentional in my relationships to others. Sometimes it is so easy, and sometimes it is not! I want to reach out to more people more readily. I need to just do it, even if it is uncomfortable. The other thing I have thought about is that I need to use my gifts and talents. I need to be who He has created me to be.I can get so caught up in just doing what is before me that I don't make time to stretch myself in new ways. God wants us to step out of our comfort zone so we have to rely on Him. That's when faith grows!

So, for now, that's how I will live more intentionally so I can be faithful and know that I have done a good job. I will probably have to have some accountability partners to keep me going in the right direction, too. I really want God to someday say to me, "Well done!"