Enter His Joy
Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:14-30
Like the wicked man in Jesus’ Parable of the Talents, most people imagine God to be “a hard man,” harsh, stern, jaw-set, and slightly unhappy. Yet, what the Master says to the “good and faithful” servants is revealing. Their reward for their faithfulness is that they “enter into the joy of [their] Master.”
God is happy. He has a joy that is all His own. He is no stoic. He is eternally and abundantly joyful.
The old Westminster Catechism begins by asking, “What is the chief end of man?” We might ask it this way: “What is the purpose for which we were created?” The answer given is, “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” We might mistakenly read that as a two-part answer. In one sense it is. But those two things, glorifying and enjoying God, are not distinct and in opposition to each other.
Glorifying God is how we discover true and lasting joy in Him. The faithful servants take what the Master gives them, and they put it to use. They are glorifying their Master through the talents He gave them. Their reward is joy, His joy.
While this parable points toward the final judgment, it is not wrong to see this as a principle at work in the here and now. We enter into the greatest joy when we live for the glory of God, and we live for the glory of God when we use what He puts in our hands to faithfully serve our Master.
