The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. Look, I’ve earned five more talents.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done my good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’     Matthew 25:20-21 HCSB

Yesterday I spoke of a fellow church member who had been a good and faithful servant and passed away last fall. But there is something that has been on my mind all week. Our church serves as a distribution point for our local food bank. Our local food bank is run by a man who lost his wife a week ago. She has a beautiful testimony. I spoke with someone who had worked with her years ago and been around her through her ordeal with cancer. God brought these two together and they were told that she could not have children, but she conceived seven times and even though there was one miscarriage, they were blessed with six beautiful children. She was a teacher and home schooled her children. She actively assisted her husband in their ministry to feed others. She was only 39 years old when God notified her that her mission was complete and called her home.

Now I look at this situation and I think, how can her mission be complete with those young children, her husband and her community counting on all the good things she was doing? I spoke with a former co-worker of hers a few days ago and she said that one thing everyone knew about her was that she loved the Lord. She was all about Jesus and looked forward to going to heaven. But so soon? With all this work left to do? It’s beyond what my human brain can comprehend. But I’m not in mission control. That’s God’s job.

We don’t ever know when our mission here on earth will be complete. But know this, we all have jobs to do. We all want to hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant” when we get to heaven. So, I ask you are you doing the job that God has called you to do? Have you let the devil discourage you one too many times and had your task reassigned to someone who is willing to put their faith in the LORD? Or are you working diligently until you hear from mission control that your mission is complete?

One thing we know about this beautiful young woman is that she is now with the Lord that she loved and served for all these years. She is finally home to spend eternity in glory with her Lord and Savior. Her mission on earth is considered completed.

There will come a day for each and everyone of us that we will leave this earth. Will your mission be complete? Will you have accomplished what God has called you to do? Or will you stand before Him and attempt to make excuses for why you did not even begin, much yet complete, your mission? Will you tell Him that you buried the talents He gave you and failed to use them to further His kingdom? Or will He commend you on the use of your talents to bring others to Him?

None of us know the day or the hour or the amount of work that we will do before we are called home, we must be ready. If God calls you home in the next couple of minutes, are you ready? Have you been working? Will your mission be complete or never even started?

None of us were put here to decorate a church pew. We have jobs to do. If you are not doing what God has called you to do, what is your excuse? Get busy.

Have a great weekend!