“Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.”
“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them.”
“You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 12:34, 37, 40)
What do these verses mean? Based on what Jesus taught and lived out, we can understand the meaning. The next paragraphs explain them.
Verses thirty-five challenges it’s readers and hearers by stating the following. Prepare yourself to serve the Master. Know Him. Be in relationship with Him. Grow in knowledge of Him and His Word. Become more like Jesus daily. Tell other people about Jesus and salvation. Have the mind of Christ and prepare to serve God and people by preparing yourself to obey Him. And KEEP doing these things. Don’t give up or faint in your devotion to God.
Verse thirty-seven explains the promise of God by saying the following. Blessed by God from His storehouse of abundance are the servants of the Lord of lords—the Master—when He returns and finds them watching for Him, seeking Him, growing more like Him, and serving Him and others in attitude, thought, and action. Most assuredly, I tell you, the Master, Christ Himself, will be in relationship, will welcome, and will serve His servants as He promised by welcoming them—His saved and obedient followers—and having them sit and recline at His own table, as joint heirs with Him.
Verse forty explains the imperative by meaning the following. You, servants of the Master, must prepare yourselves daily, moment by moment, by being in relationship with God, growing in knowledge of Him and His word, becoming more like Jesus, proclaiming the gospel, and having the mind of Christ, so that you obey Him by serving Him and other people. Why? Because Jesus the Christ will come when you don’t expect Him.
So, expect Christ’s return, be prepared by growing to be more like Him; this is waiting in anticipation for Christ’s return. You will receive His just reward of an eternal inheritance.
Do you know Jesus? Have you believed in Him and received salvation from Him?
If Jesus returns today, will He find you prepared, waiting, and obeying?
