Thoughts

7 Bible Verses To Read At A Banquet Or Retirement Party

Here are seven great Bible verses you can use at a banquet or retirement party.

Matthew 25:21 “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.”

There is something special about a retirement party. It marks another chapter in a man or woman’s life as they can finally enjoy doing more of the things that they like to do, and although many loved their jobs and are forced into retirement, they will hear the greatest reward someday and it’s not from their company boss. It will come from Jesus Christ Who will say the most joyful words you’ll ever hear; “Well done, good and faithful servants,” because if you are faithful in what you have done with what you’ve been given, Jesus says, “I will set you over much” and that is a job that no one will ever retire from, because they have eternal life.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

It’s so easy to grow weary while doing good things for God, and especially when no one notices or you receive no thanks, but Someone actually does notice what no one else does. What is done in secret is seen by God, but what’s done to be seen of man, is its own reward, therefore, do good in secret so that God will openly reward you someday (Matt 6:4). When you remind everyone of your good deeds, God will forget them, but if you forget them, God will not, with the point being, don’t grow weary, because “in due season [you] will reap, if [you] do not give up.”

Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.”

Our employers might overlook our hard work after all these years, but God will not. When we work with all our might, which is what we’re commanded to do (Eccl 9:10), then we are giving it all we’ve got for God, as we work for God and not man. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul said when writing that “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col 3:23-24). Your greatest reward doesn’t come in this life but in the life to come.

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Luke 16:10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”

Years ago, I remember hearing a true story of a man who was hired as a chief executive in a very high position for a very big company. They had just offered him the job and it came with a huge salary with benefits. When they all went down to eat lunch in the company cafeteria, the boss noticed the newly hired man who was ahead of him in line, had slide a 2 cent pad of butter under his napkin. The CEO asked for another meeting of the company board and he said, “I think we hired the wrong man.” The boss reasoned that a man who wasn’t faithful in little (in paying for a 2 cent pad of butter), wouldn’t likely be faithful in the much that he was given, and because he was dishonest in little, he would have probably been unfaithful in much.

Job 34:11 “For according to the work of a man he will repay him, and according to his ways he will make it befall him.”

Did you realize that when we work for an employer, we are actually “rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man” (Eph 6:7), so we must understand that “whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free” (Eph 6:8), and what better testimony for God than to do the best work we can do for our employer. God is the One Who will repay those who are faithful, and it will come long after the boss and the company is long gone.

Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.”

Jesus will appear someday, just as it says in Revelation 22:12, where Christ says, “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.” This can be good for those who have trusted in Christ (Rev 21:1-4; 22:4), but very bad for those who have rejected Christ all of their lives (Rev 1:7). Ultimately, it is the Lord Who will repay us for what we’ve done here on earth, either good or bad, but specifically for the Christian, what we’ve done for God and for His glory, and not just so that others would see, He will reward and not man.

Proverbs 12:14 “From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him.”

The Bible says that a working man (or woman) sleeps well as Solomon wrote, “Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep” (Eccl 5:12), and the faithful labor of a man or woman after many years “comes back to him” or her in one way or the other. In the end, the real reward comes at Christ’s appearance, because the way Jesus sees it, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40).

Conclusion

There are fewer things that are more joyful than a retirement party or banquet. The many years of labor for the company are often acknowledged before the other employees and this is as it should be, but we know that those who are the children of God will eventually inherit all things (Rev 21:7), and all things means all things in the New Jerusalem or when the kingdom comes down, and at that time, God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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