37 “Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.
38 “Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39 “But 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.
40 “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.” Luke 12:35-40. (Emphasis added.)
Sometimes when I read Scripture, I will remember prior Scripture and understand the connection between the two passages. Today, I remembered prior Scripture and understood their connection with today’s Scripture.
The very clear and simple theme for the Scripture today is to be ready for the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Two prior verses that I remembered first are Luke 12:5 and Luke 5:20.
“But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!”‘ Luke 12:5.
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ ” Luke 5:20.
Even as I consider these two Scriptures, I remember a more distant Scripture, Luke 9:59-62.
“And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:59-62.
The connection between all these Scriptures is the supreme demand of discipleship including readiness.
It is very tempting for us to push aside our devotion to our Lord with various pursuits. How easy is it to get distracted and off-track! We can justify the pursuit of so many different things (even as good as they may be).
But, we are warned! “… fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
We may think like the five foolish virgins: “I will get ready later. I also have friends who can help.” And notice that the five foolish virgins so quickly tried to get ready and how they asked for help from their friends.
But, what happened? “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:6-13.
In conclusion, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 May God give us grace to truly fear God, and remember and meditate on the fact and act rightly upon it, that God has authority to cast into hell and that Christ can come again at any hour and that we need to be “on our tip-toes” ready (and not distracted by various other pursuits).
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 