Several years ago I went to a training event for church leaders. The preacher that day was the Baton Rouge District Superintendent at that time, Reverend Leslie Norris.
He was a wonderful preacher, but that afternoon I was a little bit tired and kind of sleepy. I was somewhat drifting along and daydreaming during his sermon . . . until Brother Norris got to a certain point. I’ll never forget it. He was preaching on Matthew chapter 25. He said, “On the Day of Judgment, God is going to gather his children who have done well and lived right and he’s going to say to them, well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
And then he shouted it out, “Well done! Well done! Well done!” I thought he was calling out my name because I was kind of sleepy and daydreaming. I jumped in my seat!
It is not a good thing to simply drift along, unalert, in church or anywhere else in life.
I believe that scripture calls us today to be alert spiritually, to be on the lookout. The writer of the letter of I Peter in the New Testament exhorts us, “Be of sober spirit. Be on the alert.” (I Peter 5:8)
And yes, may the Lord someday say to each one of us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”