When you first read these verses, they seem a bit harsh, don’t they? Are these verses saying that we need to work nonstop, that we can never have a break? The servant in the parable works hard all day long, and then when he gets home at the end of the day, he isn’t thanked for his work, but instead he is told to keep working by preparing a meal for his master and then still must keep working. Is this what we need to do as well?

Jesus is telling us that we are his servants every second of every day.. There is not any time when we aren’t his servants. We can never think, “Oh, I can forget about being God’s servant now.” No, we are God’s servants all the time. This means that you have to do everything every day to the honour and glory of God. If you are at school, resting, playing with your friends, helping your mum, or relaxing with a good book, then all these things must be done to God’s glory.

This doesn’t mean that the things that you do will help you get into heaven or make you a better person. No, not at all. Actually, Jesus says in this parable that you must understand that all the things you do are unprofitable or unworthy. They cannot make you a better person or make you righteous before God. Even the best things that you do during the day are sinful, because you are a sinful person.

Yet God doesn’t reject your works and say that they are useless. No, out of love and grace, he accepts the works that you do, even though they are sinful. He is pleased with them because of Christ’s redeeming work. Because Christ has forgiven you, and because the Spirit is at work in your hearts, God loves all the works that you do out of love for him.

Get rid of anything — pictures, books, movies, thoughts, hobbies — that stops you from serving the Lord. Instead, continue every day to praise God, to love him, and to serve him. Use every moment that the Lord gives you, in a way that is pleasing to him.

Reflection with your child:

What does it mean to be a servant of the Lord?