“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 12:35-40)
This is the cherry on top of the last several things Jesus has been telling us. He’s been telling us to not live for this physical world, not to be anxious but to instead seek the kingdom of God; all in all an exhortation to live heavenly minded. And this is the epitome of why – You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Dressed for Action
Jesus is coming back soon and as His servants we shouldn’t be slacking even He seems to tarry. The first command Jesus gave was to stay dressed for action. We live in a dark world and it can often feel wearisome to keep working and serving, but in essence Jesus is saying, don’t put your spiritual pajamas on just because it’s dark. No one is ready to work and serve in anything with their pajamas on, right? They have to be dressed and outfitted for work, proving they have a willingness to serve. So yes, it’s dark but it’s not time to sleep, it’s quite the opposite - it’s time to wake up and serve BECAUSE the days are evil.
But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:13-17)
Burning Lamps
Part of Jesus’ command to stay dressed for action was to also keep your lamps burning. God’s word is likened to lamp as king David wrote, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105) and based on the parable of the ten virgins we know that we need to keep oil in our lamps to keep them burning, of which the Holy Spirit is likened to.
We can be ready and willing to serve but how can we effectively see and not stumble if we don’t have our lamps continuously burning in this dark and evil world? Part of being dressed for action, being willing to serve, is abiding in Jesus, reading His word and meditating on it, in order to keep our lamps burning.
Ready for His Knock
When my husband goes out of town for work trips, my girls and I count down the days until he comes back. And on the day he’s coming home and around the time we think he might drive up, we all intermittently check the driveway to see if he’s back yet. As soon as one of us sees him, we announce it throughout the house and run to the door to greet him. This is kind of how I imagine this description of the servants who are waiting for their master to come home. As soon as the master knocks, they open since they’ve been serving with an expectation and checking periodically to see if there’s a sign of his arrival.
God has graciously given us prophecies and signs that His coming is near, but do we live expectantly for His arrival? Are we getting too wrapped up in the service of our King that we aren’t looking out for the King Himself? We must be ready because we don’t know the day or hour that Jesus is coming back, but we can definitely see based on the signs that it’s closer than ever.
That day will come when He takes us into His eternal kingdom forever, but until that day, we keep our eyes up and focused on Him, praying His kingdom come and His will be done as we continue to faithfully serve Him while we wait, and being mindful to meditate on His word and keep our lamps burning.
This week, I’ll leave you with the last two verses of the Bible, my friend:
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. (Revelation 22:20-21)