Dear FAITHFUL Shepherd,
Come sit by the warmth of the fire with me and enjoy a cup of the fresh-brewed elixir we call java. Rest and engage me in the conversation of what really will matter most when we lounge with the Great Shepherd. Is it the number of sheep in the fold, is it how much they learned from your shepherding? What is it that you want to hear at the end of a long, exhausting tenure with the sheep everyday? You know they can be obstinate and sometimes really self-centered and extremely odiferous. So when the day has come and gone what is it that the Good Shepherd requires of His undershepherd? Lean in and listen to what the Master has to say.
“Well done my good and faithful servant . . .you have been faithful . . . Let’s celebrate together!”
Did you catch that? The Good Shepherd celebrates faithfulness. Seventeen years you say? In the same fold? In a small rocky region with, with an aging flock and not many lambs on the horizon, but you stayed, steadfast, strong, unmovable faithfully and enthusiastically doing the work of the Good Shepherd.
Well done, good and faithful servant!
Thank you for faithfully shepherding your family. The most valuable gift God has given you beyond your salvation is your wife and children. You have faithfully placed them ahead of your ministry. You have been your wife’s loyal and faithful friend–you have loved her like Christ has loved His Bride, putting her needs above your own and you have given her honor as the cherished person she is. In sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, forsaking all others you have remained faithful. You provided for her needs–emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually! You faithfully placed her before your children. Thanks for being a faithful husband.
Well done, good and faithful servant!
Likewise you have faithfully received your children as a gift from God, faithfully raised them to honor Christ and faithfully released them to serve Him. You have taught them the ways of the Lord, provided protection from spiritual warfare, been actively involved in their activities that stretch you beyond imagination: coaching little league, soccer, basketball, attending dance recitals and school programs, band events and vocal concerts. You volunteered for field trips, taught them at home. You equipped them to be young men and women. You bandaged their wounds, celebrated their birthdays, cried at their graduation and officiated their wedding. You are faithful to your first disciples.
Well done, good and faithful servant!
You were there acting as a guardian shielding the flock from harm. You faithfully shared the truth in love rescuing the sheep from the paws of the bear and from the roaring lion that was seeking their destruction, vigilantly protecting them from other harmful influences as well. Your protectiveness often came at the expense of self-sacrifice.
Well done, good and faithful servant!
You also served as a faithful shepherd for your church family. You rose faithfully at the 3 AM call and sobbed with those who had lost a family member to a long, hard-fought battle with cancer. You walked with them through the valley of the shadow of death when a teen suddenly lost their life in an auto accident. You cried tears of joy as you faithfully celebrated the birth of a new son/daughter. You faithfully provided spiritual nourishment for a hungry and famished soul, often preparing three meals a week.
Well done, good and faithful servant!
You are faithful to exercise compassion when needed, to listen attentively to the voices of others without harsh judgment, and you seek to carry one another’s heavy load. You have poured your soul into them, often unappreciated when you had nothing left to give. You have faithfully sought to establish relationships, personal bonds that became lasting friendships, assisting them in discovering their significance in Christ. You have faithfully laid aside personal comfort for the sake of the sheep. You have gently guided them beside still waters and green pastures so that they might find rest from a long, hot, exhausting journey.
Well done, good and faithful servant!
Fellow Pastor when you get weary, tired, ready to throw in the towel reflect on what the Father requires of His servants:
“Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.”
Perhaps it helps to remember that God emphasizes and blesses faithfulness. Abraham was a faithful man shown by his obedience–he left his home for the unknown, Daniel was faithful under pressure, Joseph was faithful in the face of temptation, David remained faithful despite making sinful choices, and Elijah was faithful in the moral corruption of his day. Paul remained faithful even in prison. But above all else Jesus our example is called, “The Faithful and True Witness.”
Pastor, above all else, remain faithful to the Father who called you, to the Family He gave you, and to the Flock he entrusted to your care. Above all else, be faithful. Celebrate faithfulness, because Jesus does!!
“Well done my good and faithful servant . . .you have been faithful . . . Let’s celebrate together!”
Pastor, thank you for modeling Jesus by being a FAITHFUL Steward.
