REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, originally posted on October 30, 2018, is provided by Pastor David Kwon who leads Journey Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. David is a graduate of Drexel University (B.S.) and Columbia International University (M.Div.).
Devotional Thought for This Morning
“Are You Ready?”
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.”
One experience that I will never forget in college was when I was taking a computer science class my senior year. As I walked into class—just as it started—I saw everyone put their notebooks and laptops away (I thought that was strange), and my professor came in and started handing out a packet of papers to each student. As I got my packet, I realized that it was an exam that I had not studied or prepared for—it wasn’t out of laziness, but rather I had mistakenly thought the date of the exam was the week after! Did you ever have an experience like this, where you were unprepared—whether it was for an exam, interview or an important event?
In today’s parable, Jesus addresses the idea of readiness in light of the Second Coming of Christ. We may not think too much about the Second Coming, but we need to remember that it will come unexpectedly and suddenly (v. 40). Jesus tells His followers to make sure that when He comes back, we are to be found faithful and awake. So what does it look like to live a life of readiness? I want to give three practical suggestions:
- Radical Generosity – Where do we see this in the passage? We need to understand that this teaching comes right after the parable of the rich fool, where Jesus challenges a rich man not to store up earthly treasures but to invest into eternal treasures. It should be the same for us as well. We are called to be generous with our money, resources and possessions, as we await His return.
- Mission Urgency – If we knew Jesus was returning next week, wouldn’t we change our priorities? Being ready means that we are living with a mission, and we make our lives about Him; meaning, no matter where God has called us professionally, we are called to live out the mission of God in our lives by making disciples, building up the Body, and sharing our faith with others.
- Spiritual Intensity – Knowing that Jesus will someday return means that we live in spiritual fervency. We should not be passive when it comes to things like prayer, being in the Word, being involved in the community, and serving, because one of the marks of being ready (or awake) is that we do not become lazy when it comes to spiritual disciplines.
Are you living in readiness? How would Jesus find you if He returned today? C.S. Lewis says this:
“Precisely because we cannot predict the moment, we must be ready at all times. The soldier does not know at what time the enemy may attack, or what time an officer might inspect his post. So he must be awake at all times. Not that we should always be running around in fear that the end might happen at any moment. We should be like an 80-year-old man, who needs, on the one hand, not to be always thinking about his approaching death. But, at 80, he should always be taking it into account. It would be criminally foolish not to have made his will and so on.”
Prayer: Lord, help us to be found ready when You return. I pray that this will be a wake-up call to some who may be living just for temporary treasures. May we invest our lives wisely for Your kingdom and Your glory. Amen!
Bible Reading: 2 Kings 3
Lunch Break Study
Read 2 Peter 3:8-10: But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Questions to Consider
- What do we learn about the timing of God? What does this mean for you?
- What is our hope, according to Peter?
- What do you feel you are called to do in light of these verses?
Notes
- We need to be reminded that God’s timing is not our timing. He is sovereign over time, and we need to be reminded of that truth daily.
- Our hope is that the Lord fulfills His promises. He is faithful to His Word and we are commanded to trust.
- The Lord is patient because He does not want anyone to perish. It means we are called to be witnesses for Him and to share the Good News to all who hear.
Evening Reflection
Today, we looked at the Second Coming of Jesus, and what that should mean in our lives. Take some time in self-reflection and prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to convict and reveal areas that you need to surrender to the Lord.