LUKE 17: 5-10 - AN IMPORTANT DIALOGUE BETWEEN JESUS AND THE APOSTLES
In v.5 of Luke 17, the Apostles made a request: Luke 17:5 "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith."
Jesus responded by telling them what great and incredible things could be achieved with seemingly little & insignificant faith- Luke 17:6 (KJV) "And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."
Furthermore in v. 7-10, Jesus proceeded to issue a warning by use of a parable.
"But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."
This instructs that no man must take Glory for 'his' exploits of faith. We are to humbly point all attention to God, emphasizing that without Him, we can do nothing! Basically, it's not about the size of our faith, how hard we have worked on our faith, how much sacrifice we have made in building 'spiritual muscles' or how close we are to God... IT'S ALL ABOUT GOD; HE ALONE DOES GREAT & WONDROUS THINGS! Having done all, we are to look forward to our reward from God, not as a debt he owes us, but as a gracious gift from a loving master.
Does this passage negate the fact that we are sons of God? No... We should rather see ourselves as SERVING SONS. Moreso, this passage belongs to the genre of parables, which generally use fictions or observable facts to explain spiritual truth. It's the inferred truth that has doctrinal importance, not necessarily the story line.
Finally, please compare this parable with the one in Matthew 25, with emphasis on the contrast between Luke 17:10 and Matt. 25:30.
Luke 17: 10- "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."
Matthew 25:30- "And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth"
"Happy is he who judges himself an unprofitable servant; miserable is he whom God pronounces such."