For
just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so,
through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19)
Here I am, Lord; I
come to do your will. (Psalm 40:8a,9a)
"Gird
your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's
return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed
are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.”(Luke 12:35-37)
Piety
Lord, may You find me ready, today and always.
Study
Back
in my teens, I was precisely the kind of babysitter parents wanted to hire. I
played with the kids, changed the diapers, prepared and doled out the snacks,
and got everyone to bed on time. My friends, male or female, didn’t come over,
and I didn’t chat on the phone. Small wonder, then, that my weekends were
booked weeks in advance. Oh, and I didn’t fall asleep, even when the parents
said they’d be out late and to feel free to nap on the couch after the kids were
zonked out. I was too concerned about my charges’ nightmares and the slight
potential for fire, lightning, tornadoes, intruders, you name it.
Would
that I had been as concerned about being ready for the Lord.
I
pretty much ignored Him for decades, consciously and unconsciously.
Fortunately, once a series of whirlwinds awoke me, I’ve tried hard not to fall
back asleep.
But
it’s hard, isn’t it? Constant vigilance takes a lot of mental, emotional,
spiritual, and physical energy. Would just a little gossip or negativity really
hurt anything? Would letting just one day of not saying hello to the man
playing the horn at the metro stop really hurt anything? Would holding fast on
Commitment Sunday despite a bit of a raise or other financial gain really hurt
anything?
Only,
I guess, if you lack inside knowledge about when your earthly death or the
Second Coming is coming… and if you’d be a bit uncomfortable explaining to the
Lord that it was more important to you to sleep than to keep that lamp lit
while you were waiting for Him.
Action
Make
a list of behaviors that make you spiritually sleepy and unready. Pray for the
Lord’s guidance in avoiding them.
No comments:
Post a Comment