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Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Watching and waiting

Luke 12:35-59

Building treasures with Kingdom activities provide rewards in Heaven. These treasures can never be destroyed, never need polishing and always makes God proud. Treasure in Heaven are rewards for visiting the sick, imprisoned, helping widows and orphans, preaching the gospel, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and waiting and watching for Jesus’ return.

Jesus begins verse 35 with an action to prepare for the Lord’s return. He does not tell us to passively bide our time, but take action with activities of preparation. When Jesus does return, those who have been watching will not be caught off guard, embarrassed or surprised. Those who watch for Jesus will be prepared for the reunion and ready to receive these rewards.

In versus 42-48, Jesus gives a warning. It is quite a different message than that of a humble servant king. This warning should be heeded by all Christians as a motivation to be responsible with the challenges and individual jobs that Christ gave us. He will punish those who have not accepted him and reward his children according to their faithfulness.

Unfortunately this warning is impossible to live up to. We are not physically capable of being watchful as Jesus commands. Our sins condemn us and we will encounter God’s judgment unless we accept His gift. To be truly watchful, we must be converted from our sinful state into people who believe in Christ. Those who have accepted Christ as savior are the truly watchful.

My prayer is that everyone I encounter either through this blog or in my relationships and efforts will come to know Jesus. Because we are humans and live in an imperfect and hopelessly sinful state, our actions condemn us to eternal separation from God. We all do wrong and will continue to do wrong. We are born in a temporary world and with imperfect bodies that are doomed. However, Christ gives us a way out. God gave us His Son, those who believe in him will not be condemned but will be forgiven. This forgiveness ensures that all who believe will be ready and waiting.

Those of us who are Christians can encourage one another to be ready for Christ’s coming. We can be watchful while doing everything in our power to bring others to Christ by visiting the sick and imprisoned, caring for widows and orphans and following the commandments to love one another as Christ loves us.

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