Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant
Month 6: Stories Jesus Told · Memory Verse
Today's Scripture
Read together: Matthew 25:21
21 His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
Memory Verse
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’”— Matthew 25:21 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Psalms 84-86
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 173 of 365 — "A day in Your courts is better than a thousand" — the longing of a heart at home with God.)The Heart of It
This is the sentence every follower of Jesus most longs to hear one day. "Well done, good and faithful servant." It comes from a story about a master. He gave his servants money to handle while he traveled. Then he came back to see what they had done with it. To the servant who used what he was given, the master speaks four wonderful things. He says "well done." That is real praise. He calls him "good and faithful." Not flashy, not famous, but faithful. He promises, "I will make you ruler over many things." So faithfulness now leads to greater trust later. And he opens the door: "Enter into the joy of your lord." Did you catch that the reward isn't just a bigger job? It is joy. The master invites his servant to share in his own happiness.
Look closely at the word the master praises. He says "faithful over a few things." The servant didn't do something enormous or impressive. He simply took care of what was actually in his hands, and he didn't waste it. That's a verse made for ordinary days. You may feel like you only have "a few things." Maybe it's a small chore, or a little brother to be kind to, or a quiet way to obey when no one is watching. But Jesus says that is exactly where faithfulness is built. He isn't waiting for you to do something huge someday. He is watching what you do with the little He has given you today. Be faithful over the few things. And one day you will hear the only "well done" that will ever truly matter.
Around the Table
When we do our little jobs well — even when they're small — Jesus is so happy with us! He says, "Well done!"
Let's do it: Give each child one tiny "job" right now (put away one toy, hug a sibling). When it's done, cheer together: "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
The master praised the servant for being faithful, not famous. He praised him for handling "a few things" well, not big things.
Let's talk: What is one small thing God has put in your hands this week that you can be faithful with?
Listen to all the master gives this servant. He gives him praise. He calls him good and faithful. He promises him more. And he welcomes him into joy. Faithfulness in small things is how God grows us for bigger trust.
Let's go deeper: Why do you think God measures us by our faithfulness rather than by how big or impressive our work looks?
💬 Conversation Starter
Whose "well done" feels the best to hear — a coach, a parent, a teacher? Why do you think Jesus' "well done" will matter most of all?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
The Bible teaches that what we do with our lives genuinely matters to God. He notices faithfulness. He rewards it. He remembers it (; ). We are saved by grace through faith, never by earning it. Yet that real faith shows itself in a faithful life.
For Dad · Go Deeper
Memorizing this verse plants a quiet ambition in your children's hearts, and in yours. Note carefully what the master does not say. He does not say "well done, brilliant servant." He does not say "well done, successful servant." He says "well done, good and faithful servant." Heaven's highest praise is for faithfulness. That means it is available to every child at the table, no matter their talent. This is character over gifting in its purest form. It also reshapes parenting. You are not raising trophies. You are raising stewards. Everything they have is on loan from the Master, to be invested rather than buried. That includes their time, their abilities, and the gospel itself. And the goal of it all is not grim accounting but invitation: "enter into the joy of your lord." Faithful service ends in shared joy, not a cold transaction. Help your kids picture that day, and let it pull them forward.
Draws on: D.A. Carson, Matthew (Expositor's Bible Commentary); Kevin DeYoung, on faithfulness over impressiveness.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, one day we want to hear You say, 'Well done.' Help us be faithful with the little things in our hands right now. Help us with our chores, our family, and our words. Grow us into good and faithful servants. And one day bring us into Your joy. In Jesus' name, amen."
Be faithful with the little. That's how I get ready to hear "well done."