Ready For His Return
Devotions for Growing Christians
Ready For His Return
Luke 12:35-40 - Be dressed in readiness and keep your lamps alight. and be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master shall find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. And be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You, too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.
Christians are especially conscious of the “Holy Days” of the Christian Church around Easter time. On Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday we commemorate events leading up to the crucifixion of Christ. On Easter, Ascension Day and Pentecost we celebrate our Lord's resurrection, His ascension, and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. Notably absent from the Christian calendar is a special day when we focus on the fact of the Lord's return. This is understandable, of course, because the special days of the Church calendar look back to historical events, while the return of Christ is still future.
However, it's unfortunate that we don’t have at least one special day set aside for directing our attention to the second Advent of Christ. This is especially true in view of the failure of most Christians to make the imminence of the Lord's return part of our everyday thinking. Every celebration of the Lord's Supper "until He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26) could really be a special time to focus on the Lord's return, but the majority of Christians usually lose sight of this aspect of communion. Perhaps a designated day in the calendar might forcefully bring the great truth of Christ's second coming before our minds - at least once a year.
The personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ is emphasized throughout the New Testament. The early Christians lived with the expectancy of the Lord's return before them all the time. They believed that the Lord Jesus could return during their lifetime because that's exactly what the Scriptures taught. And they still do!
The apostle Paul considered the return of Christ during his lifetime to be a very real possibility. In 1 Thessalonians 4:15 & 17, he used the phrase "we who are alive" - not "they who will be alive”!
The fact that the Lord Jesus still has not returned after almost 2000 years does not make His coming any less imminent - in fact, just the opposite! He could return at any time! There are no prophesies that must be fulfilled before the Lord returns for His Church. Suppose the Lord returned today. Are we ready for His return?
During the latter part of our Lord's earthly ministry He began to speak about His second coming. Some of what He taught about His return is contained in His parables. Important teaching about His second coming is found in two short parables in Luke 12:35-40.
The first parable is about an estate owner who returned home from a wedding celebration (v35-38). He expected his servants to be waiting up for him, regardless of the time he returned - even if it was 2 or 3 AM! The master did something very unusual for the servants who had not fallen asleep and were eagerly waiting for his arrival: He served them, instead of having them serve him.
For the people who were listening to Jesus, this twist to the story would have been extraordinary - especially if the master was returning from his own wedding feast. Think of it! The master willingly waiting on the servants, while the servants relax and dine in leisure!
Another little parable with further insight into our Lord's return is found in verses 39-40. A thief broke into a house because the owner didn’t take proper precautions. The robbery would never have happened if the home-owner had known that the thief was coming, but unfortunately he was taken by surprise.
Be Ready!
Let's take a closer look at these two parables and see what the Lord has to say about His return.
The main focus of both parables is that we should be ready for the Lord's return. It’s particularly significant that we are commanded to be ready. Both in the introduction (v35) and in the conclusion (v40), the command to be ready for the return of Christ is given.
Readiness is not a choice for the Christian! Believers who live as if the Lord's second coming is still far off in the future, and see no need to get ready for His return, are actually disobedient. Are we obedient? Are we ready for the Lord's return? We may say that we believe in the imminent return of Christ, and we may agree with a statement of faith containing this doctrine - but are we really ready? The main thrust of these parables is not what to believe, but how to be. Ready!
What does that mean? Does it mean that we should make sure that we are saved? Yes, salvation is certainly of utmost importance - but salvation is not the point of these two parables. Our salvation is assumed in these stories.
Watching
The point of these parables is that to be ready is to be expectantly watching for our Lord. In the first parable the servants weren’t to be lounging around the pool, or playing games, or sleeping on the couch! They were to have their long robes belted up so they could give their master immediate attention when he returned. They were to have their oil lamps filled with fuel, and the floating wicks were to be trimmed and adjusted to burn brightly. The light of a lazy or drowsy servant would quickly grow dim.
The spiritual lessons of having our minds "girded with truth" (Ephesians 6:14, 1 Peter 1:13), and the lamp of our testimony well lit and shining brightly (Matthew 5:16) can be applied here, but - once again - the main idea is to be expectantly watching for the Master's return! We are to be ready by watching.
Watching for the Lord demands attention. Watching the stock market or watching our social calendars is not wrong, but these things can easily distract us from watching for our Lord's return. In the second parable we see the ready-and-watching idea emphasized again. If the head of the house had been expectantly watching, he would not have been robbed.
Why wasn’t he watching? Didn't he believe in thieves? Did he consider robbery to be impossible? No. He wasn’t watching because he simply didn't expect the break-in. We should ask ourselves: is it possible that I could be caught off guard when Christ returns? Am I involved in activities that I’d rather not be doing when the Lord comes back for me? The Lord Jesus is going to return for us at an unexpected hour (v40). Only watching Christians will not be taken by surprise.
One further point. There may be an added dimension to this parable in the idea of the thief stealing the home-owner's possessions. Read the context in verses 33-34, and notice what the Lord says about our "treasure.” Christians who have stored their treasure in Heaven by using their time, energy and money for Christ's kingdom have not only stored their treasure in a safe place, but they’re far more likely to be looking forward to the return of the Lord! Remember - when the Lord returns, we will either leave our treasure - or we’ll go to it!
A special blessing
Notice that there is a special blessing for the servants who are ready and watching for their master's return (v37-38). A brief comparison of this blessing with the blessing of verse 43 shows that these blessings are not the same. The blessing of verse 43 is for faithfully doing Christian service. But the blessing in verses 37-38 is not given for working - it’s given for watching!
In this life we can’t fully understand or appreciate all that’s involved in this special blessing for the ready-and-watching believer. 2 Timothy 4:8 speaks about the crown the Lord will give to "all who have loved His appearing."
The picture we have in these parables shows the Lord serving us in His house! What an amazing blessing! Remember, the blessing is not just for faithfully serving Him, but for faithfully watching for Him. How many Christians will lose out on this special reward and blessing? Will you? Will I?
In practical terms, how do we go about watching for the Lord? One very practical way is to say each morning as we get out of bed, "Maybe the Lord will return today!" You'll be surprised how this little saying may change your whole way of life!
An even better way, of course, is to fall more in love with our wonderful Lord. People who are in love don’t have to be told to eagerly watch for each other when they've been apart!
Although there’s no special day set aside in the Christian calendar to remind us of the Lord's return, this should make no difference to us. As we come to know and love our Savior more and more, we’ll be watching for Him daily - and we’ll be ready for His return!
- Dave Reid