“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning.” (Luke 12:35)
“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)
Jesus has challenged us to “be ready” at all times. He says to be dressed for service. He wanted His disciples to be prepared to go into action at a moments notice. So what exactly does that mean for us in our walk with the Lord?
I shared in my last entry that I learned several lessons during my one season of being a bench warmer on my middle school basketball team. Most of my glorious but short career was spent making sure I was “ready” to go into the game at a moments notice. When the coach gave me the signal I needed to be “dressed” and prepared to play. The first step to being ready to go into the game is to keep an eye on the coach (see last blog). Likewise, we as Christians must keep our eyes on Jesus if we want to be ready for all He wants us to experience in our walk with Him. We know that at any moment today He may give us the signal (opportunity) to reach out in His name. That is why Jesus would always tell His disciples to “be alert” and “watch and pray”.
Another lesson to learn about being ready is that we need to make sure that we have removed anything that might get in the way. Going back to my time on the sidelines…when I was told to get ready I would remove the warm up jacket and make sure my shoe laces were tied tightly. I didn’t want there to be anything that might get in the way of playing my best. In the verse above we are told that we should “throw off” anything that would hinder us in the running of the race. This includes, but is not limited to, the sin that so easily entangles us.
This requires us to evaluate all the things that we are doing in light of how it affects our readiness for Kingdom opportunities. Jesus said we should “seek first the Kingdom of God” when it comes to our priorities. Are you involved in things that “hinder” or restrict your participation in God’s Kingdom work? “I don’t have time to do that because I am doing this”. This can be sin, as we know, but it can also be good things. These things are not wrong but they clog up our schedules and choke out some of the better things that God has planned for us.
Most of us are over scheduled and under fulfilled in this metropolitan area. We are controlled by our calendar instead of being in control of it. We do this almost without thinking and find ourselves trapped with no way out.
So, my chalenge for you today is to take a moment in this busy day you have planned and evaluate your readiness for God’s Kingdom work. Is there anything you need to “throw off”?