The Lord had been teaching the disciples, in a parable, things concerning His coming again. He had said to them, “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.”
Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, speakest Thou this parable unto us, or even to all?” And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.” “Faithful and wise,” faithful to the trust—wise in the execution of it. A steward of things committed unto him, things which he himself might enjoy, but which he is also called to share the enjoyment of with others. If a believer has rest of heart, if he knows the forgiveness of his sins, if his soul is at peace with God, it is not only for his own personal blessing that these are his, but as a steward he holds them on behalf of others.
It was not only to the apostles that these words were spoken; they were stewards, and stewards of great things, but we are stewards also, though it may be of little things. A great result follows in the believer’s soul when he recognizes, as a truth, that he is a steward of what God has granted to him. Every reader, who knows the pardon of his sins, must be aware that there are many persons around him, whose sins are not forgiven; also, he who has peace with God must know that very many, even of God’s children, with whom he mixes frequently, lack this great blessing. As a steward, it is his responsibility to seek to bring the joy of the forgiveness of sins and of peace with God before those who are without them. “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.”
“Faithful and wise,” the Lord said; we need to challenge ourselves to be faithful to our trust, for there is a tendency in our hearts to settle down, and to enjoy what we possess, without thinking of what others lack. Wisdom in the execution of our trust is absolutely necessary, and this must be God-given. Whatever the need of the soul may be, it is utterly beyond the power of human ability to meet it. The steward therefore who sees the spiritual poverty around him, and who knows the blessing that is stored up in Christ, feels that it is only as God gives him divine wisdom to meet the peculiar need of each individual soul that he can really give the “meat in due season,” as the Lord enjoins upon him. There exists in some a greater spiritual appetite than there does in others, and also a larger capacity for receiving the truth of God than is the case with others. Some are very feeble in the faith and their souls require building up; to teach these difficult doctrines would be entirely out of place, they want the simplicity of the gospel. What should we say of the nurse who fed the new-born babe with strong meat? Strong meat might be its death; certainly it would vastly injure it. So with the invalid, food has to be given that will meet the condition of the sufferer. In like manner is it with the things of God: the state of the soul has to be earnestly considered. The feeble require establishing in gospel truth; the weak need nourishment in the faith. The Lord places before us as His stewards that it is our wisdom to give the portion of meat that is suited to the individual soul.
“In due season.” At some periods of our lives we are prepared to receive a truth of God which at other times we seem to have no capacity to take in. It is ever so in the growth of the spiritual man. The faithful and wise steward, who rejoices in the truths of God, must be able to discern the spiritual state of the soul to whom he speaks, in order that he may be able to give that special portion that meets the special need of the one he is addressing.
“Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.” Let these words of the Lord “so doing” find their full place in our hearts. Jesus would have us doing this gracious work and would have none idle in this business. On every hand there is a cry for help in this our day. All our energy is required on the behalf of others, and he who shall be found thus occupied when the Lord comes He pronounces to be a “blessed servant”—that is a happy servant, one upon whom the Lord’s smile rests, one who will receive His mark of approval, one who will hear the Master say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” And, even in this lifetime, “blessed is that servant,” since he has a secret joy in his soul which no idler in the household possesses.
A dark and terrible picture is drawn in the verses that follow. They are commended to you, but not enlarged on here. Let the bright side of this parable rest upon our hearts, and let each of us be faithful, according to our measure, praying for wisdom to do what the Lord has called us to do worthily for Him, and thus even now, this very day, it shall be said of us, “Blessed is that servant.”