Thoughts From Luke - Day 60

                                                       Luke 12:35-48

³⁵ “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. ³⁸ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. ³⁹ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
⁴¹ Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”
⁴² The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? ⁴³ It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. ⁴⁴ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, 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 is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
⁴⁷ “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. ⁴⁸ But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.


               It's the holidays, so I just watched Home Alone and little did I know there is a Bible verse for it -"If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into." Ha! I'm sure that Jesus wasn't being prophetic of a future Christmas movie so let's see what His thrust is in this passage.

            I remember High School gym class when we would have to do calesthenics like push ups while the gym teacher walked around the class of 100 guys. When his eyes were on you, you made sure that you were doing them proper but when he was at the other side of the gym, you dogged it. The same was true when working as a bus boy or summer lawn mower for the school district. I could certainly goof off a lo when the boss wasn't around but when he drove up, there was always a lookout saying "here he comes". Because I know that is in me, as a boss, I'm less bothered when I find my employees on Facebook, etc., as long as they are getting the work done. How can I demand what I couldn't give. But then, if there are employees that goof around all the time and don't get their work done - well that's another story. On the other hand, if there are employees whose work standard and ethics are so high that they don't entertain themselves on the boss's "dime" - well those are keepers. Those are the ones you know you can trust to handle even the money. Those are the ones you pay handsomely and elevate because they are operating by a higher standard.

            I think that Jesus is giving us a similar principle here. As believers who are now in the Kingdom of God (see the previous blog), we are serving a new master. The previous master was Satan who was so clever that we didn't even know we were serving him because he steps in the shadows and has us serve ourselves as we live for money, pleasure, comfort, lust, food, entertainment, longevity, power, prestige, etc. As long as we aren't living for God, he wins. But now we live for God. He is our master. He owns us. However, it is sort of like this 30 year old guy that my son is going to officiate his wedding. His dad owns lots of miniature golf courses, go-kart tracks, and tourist traps in the Southeast. His dad is a multi-millionaire. The son is working for the dad in some capacity with a modest salary in a small office helping his dad run the business. Some day the dad will give the son and his sister the business. However now he is basically just serving the dad. There is a love relationship there but yet a boss/employee relationship too. The dad would be disappointed with the son if the son didn't take the work seriously because that would be showing the dad and his business disrespect. The dad wants to see the son succeed and will do all he can to help him succeed and point him in the right direction and cut him some slack. But eventually, if he disdains the business, it would all go to his sister.

            I think Jesus' point here is not so much, "watch out because I'm coming back and if you aren't behaving well, you don't get to go to Heaven", but rather, here is how you identify if you are truly a son of God - a citizen of the Kingdom of God - if you have left "the matrix". First, we are eagerly, not fearfully waiting for His return because we are headed to a party (36-40). True believers are living "looking up for their redemption draweth nigh". We can't wait for the one we love to greet us, welcome us to the banquet table and say "well done, my good and faithful servant." Even though we are busy doing earthly work, we aren't forgetting that He is coming back soon and we keep one eye on the sky. Second, true believers are becoming more like Christ. Mark 10:45 says that Jesus came to serve and a true believer will be serving others. In fact, the clearest sign that you are no longer living for self and aren't part of Satan's kingdom, is that you are serving and considering others above yourself. If you are insensitive to the needs of others, are prejudicial, are hoarding, etc. you really can't be a transformed follower of Christ - you are still living for the Kingdom of this Earth. This sounds harsh and we all slide back into selfishness, but remember, just like the dad of my son's friend, his goal is to groom you not exclude you. Mercy triumphs over judgement.

         Father, as this New Year approaches, may I become less and less self-centered. Help me keep my eyes fixed on you. Help me to fall deeper in love with you and the thought of Your return to so empower me that my daily activities are transformed by that realization. Amen.