Luke 12:35-48: Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 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. 37 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. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 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. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” 41 Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more
Blessed for
Readiness is
Application To Consider
How to be ready and what hinders readiness
Fear God
The first way in which a person can be ready is by fearing God. The reason Jesus says to fear God is because He can kill and afterwards cast into hell. Jesus point in saying this is that God is in control, so we should look to Him. He also tells us that God knows even the number of hairs on your head. God is aware of the details of your life and He is in control. That is a reason to tremble and be in awe. We should look to God for approval and to meet our needs
• Fear of man keeps us from fearing God. Often we get more concerned about what the people around us think and so we are no longer seeking to honor God.
Be rich toward God
This statement is explained in a parable showing the opposite of what we should do. It means that we should understand that all we have comes from God, and all we have can be taken at any moment. Instead of gaining confidence in our possessions, we should have confidence in our Lord who has purchased us by His own blood. Jesus lived a perfect life and died on a cross, taking upon Himself the wrath of God for sin, then rose on the third day, so that all who believe might be saved from eternal condemnation and be restored to fellowship with God for eternity. This is the possession we should find security in rather than earthly possessions which have no value after death.
• The thing that keeps us from this confidence is placing our worth in things rather than in Christ who does not change. Personal riches can keep us from being ready by finding security in possessions rather than God.
Seek God’s kingdom
The last way Jesus points to readiness is by striving after God’s kingdom rather than worrying about our needs. Here Jesus is saying that we can have confidence that God will provide all that we need, so our focus should be to make Him known to others and to edify the Body of Christ. This does not mean we all need to quit our jobs and become full time pastors or missionaries. What this means is that wherever we are, we are ambassadors for Christ, whether a teacher, doctor, construction, dentist, clerk, retired, or any other job or phase of life, we are to be kingdom minded. Are the people that we interact with on a daily basis aware of their sin and need to be saved? If they do not, God may have placed you there to share the gospel with them.
• Seeking after the worries of life will cause us to lose focus on the mission God has given us. Food, drink, clothes, house are all real needs, but God says He will provide.
So all in all, readiness comes when we believe what God has said and respond according to that truth. In Hebrews 11, we find a list of men who lived by faith. Each of them was imperfect, but they heard God’s Word and responded in action, doing as God had said, believing God was going to do as He said. This hall of faith is encouraging first because we can see those who have gone before us who were ready. It also provides encouragement because it shows that God was faithful. Do you believe God is who He says He is? Do you believe He is in control? Do you believe He will provide? Do you believe only God can save sinners through the work of Christ? The answer to that question can be found in how you live your life. If Christ comes back today, will you be found ready?