Articles
Please Wait!
All of us have had times when we had to wait? I remember when I worked on a farm. I had to be at work before sunrise and spent the mornings walking rice fields and the evenings driving a small bob truck to haul grain to the silo. It was hot sitting in the truck waiting on the combine to dump. I would sit with the windows down until the last minute then roll them up while the combine dumped so all the dust and chaff didn't blow into the cab. It was difficult to stay awake and even harder to stay focused since I didn't get home until 9:30 pm and had to leave again by 4:30 am. There are many tasks in our lives that require us to wait, stay focused, and ready.
The New Testament teaches us that as Christians we are a people that are waiting. While we wait we also have a responsibility to be prepared and to stay focused. Jesus illustrated this point more than once during his ministry. We find one of these instances in Luke 12:35-36 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 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.” Isn't that a good de-scription of us as Christians? Christians are servants waiting for their Lord, Jesus, to return.
James in his letter encouraged early Christians scattered among the nations. “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” (James 5:7-8) Like the farmer God is waiting for those who will repent and turn to Him. It is sometimes easy to get caught up in the activities of this life and forget that one day Je-sus will return. Our job is to be ready and remain firm in our faith until he returns. Will Jesus find prepared, obedient servants when he returns? Jesus gave His disciples a warning in Luke 12:40 “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” The only way we will be ready is to remain steadfast, faithful and obedient each day. “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.” (Psalm 130:5) ~Brad Tolbert
