Reading: Judges 12-15, Luke 12:22-48
Be prepared for service to the Lord.
Wait and watch for His return.
Keep alert, always expecting His return.
Be ready.
These words of Jesus echo in Luke 12:35-40 as the Master calls His followers to be found faithful when He returns. Whenever He returns—and His coming will be at an unexpected time—He wants to find His disciples obediently serving Him even while they wait with patience for His return.
The point is this: Jesus is coming back, and today could be the day of His coming; consequently, we are to serve Him today as if we might soon meet Him personally. As one writer described our responsibility, “Be alert twenty-four hours seven days a week until he comes. No slack time allowed. He may come when you least expect him, in the middle of the night.”* We are to follow Him fully today, knowing the certainty of His coming according to His timing.
My guess is that if you’ve been in church for some time, you already know Jesus is coming back. I may be wrong, but I also suspect that you—like I—need repeated reminders to be alert and ready when He does come. When we never consider (or expect) His return, that might be precisely the time He comes.
PRAYER: “God, I want to be found faithful when You return. Help me to serve You fully today.”
DAILY ACTION STEP: Deal with any issue of your life you know you need to address prior to Jesus’ return.
TOMORROW’S READING: Judges 16-19, Luke 12:49-13:17
* T. C. Butler, (2000). Luke (Vol. 3, p. 207). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
