The Fruit of a Good and Faithful Servant

“Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” (Matthew 25:19-21, ESV)

I remember being 20 years old at a Friday night worship service. It was an all-are-welcome event, so we brought the youth up from the church basement to be a part of it. In the middle of a song, I felt a little tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see my Pastor, David Knapp, standing next to me. With a little smile on his face, he leaned down so I could hear him and said, “Do you think the youth band has a song they’d like to share?” 

At this point, we had a small youth band comprised of a handful of teens who were mostly self-taught in their instruments. Still, I nodded and he said, “I’ll let the team on the altar know that the youth are going to lead after the next song.” 

The coolest thing about Pastor Knapp was that he was always discipling. He was always teaching, equipping, raising up, and sending people out into ministry. He knew each and every one of the sheep the Lord put into his care, and he shepherded them well. He corrected them with a stern hand and a loving heart. He listened and counseled in the Word of God. He diligently was there when you asked him to be. He always picked up the phone and returned your emails.

Heck, there was even one summer that he helped me with my social studies current events project because he was super into world news. We sat at the conference room table in the church office and he showed me all sorts of headlines from the Middle East he put aside for me because he thought they were interesting.

And as I grow older and the Lord leads me and my family deeper into ministry and serving the church, I realize how rare pastoral care like that was. Truly, Pastor Knapp cared about my spiritual health as a child just as much as he cared for any of the adults. He dedicated me as a baby, taught my first communion class on a Saturday morning, baptized me, he taught a homiletics class where I preached some of my first sermons that would eventually lead to the devotions you’re reading today.

He showed me by example, even before anyone knew where God would have me serve– whether it was with youth, leading worship, or as a pastor’s wife– how deeply important it is to care for those you’re leading.

And yes, sometimes I fail at that. Sometimes, I put my foot in my mouth or show areas I need to improve. And I’m sure Pastor Knapp did, too. But he also showed me the importance of giving people grace and listening to people’s hearts and honoring what God was doing in their lives on an individual level.

Most importantly? Pastor Knapp taught me to pray. To worship God in reverence and awe for who He is. And to read my Bible. One of his most famous lines were, “After this sermon, I want you to go home and check what I’ve preached in your Bible. If you can’t find it, then throw it out!”

His ministry was all about the Bible and the importance of knowing scripture. And since I left his church almost four years ago, my theology has changed. But even if the finer points of my faith don't line up with his, I think he would respect the fact that I can point to the scriptures to explain those differences. Because at the end of the day, scripture was always the final word, and that’s what his ministry was all about.

This past week, Pastor Knapp went to be with Jesus, something he talked about for all the 25 years I was in his care. Over this past week, I have caught myself in moments of grief where it feels like a huge chapter has come to a close. He was a spiritual father to me, and it feels strange to me that his larger-than-life presence isn’t here anymore. 

But I do know this: he is exactly where he always wanted to be, and he’s already heard those words he wanted to hear: Well done, good and faithful servant.

Over the years, the Lord entrusted many people to Pastor Knapp, some of them are still here, and many of them are also safely home in heaven. His ministry was long and he discipled so many to go out and make other disciples. He never hid away the talents God gave him, and for me, that will always stick with me wherever the Lord will take me. 

I hope, at the end of my own race of faith, I can look back and see the same in my own ministry. I hope that the Lord will use me to reach people and turn them to Him. I hope that my life will be a deep and fruitful testimony to God’s faithfulness. And I hope that God might use me to help people see Him better, glorify Him more deeply, and that no one He entrusted to me fell by the wayside.

Today, as you read this, I hope you hear it as more than a eulogy, because at its heart, it’s not. Instead, let this encourage you to keep running your race of faith using scripture as the standard, glorifying God to the utmost, and ministering to others with deep care and love as Jesus would. Only that kind of race will reap the fruit needed to hear that long-sought-after well done, entering into all the riches of the salvation God beckoned us into and enjoying the unfathomable joys of our Master and Father.

Thank you, Jesus, for Pastor Knapp and his life. The fingerprints of his ministry are all over the foundations of my faith. Thank you for bringing him home to finally be with you. I know he’s sitting there, watching you run the universe like he always loved to do. And I ask that you would strengthen each and every one on this earth that called him a spiritual father. I pray you would draw them close to you and give them comfort in continuing to move onward in their own faith. I love you, Lord, and I thank you for putting people in my life that were used so excellently to draw me into your grace.