Keep Your Lamp Burning · The Disciple Machine

Keep Your Lamp Burning

One of the clearest indications that the return of the Lord is drawing near may be the growing apathy and indifference toward His coming. The longer the world continues as it has, the easier it becomes for people to assume that tomorrow will simply look like today. Even among believers, the expectation of His return can slowly fade into the background. We become occupied with daily life, responsibilities, possessions, plans, and everything happening around us. Yet Jesus specifically warned us that His coming would take place at a time when many would not be expecting Him.

Jesus said, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). Notice His words carefully: be ready. He did not tell us to begin getting ready once we see Him coming. He told us to already be ready because His appearing will come at an hour when people are not expecting it. The warning is not given so that believers will live in fear, but so that we will live with expectancy. The present generation of believers should live with its eyes lifted toward heaven, knowing that the promises of God are certain and that the One who promised to return will return.

There is an important difference between knowing that Jesus is coming and actually living as though He could come. It is possible to believe the doctrine of the Lord's return while allowing the urgency of it to disappear from our hearts. We can talk about prophecy, study the signs, discuss world events, and still become spiritually sleepy. That is why the words of Jesus are so important. “Therefore you also be ready.” Readiness is not merely knowing something about His return. It is living with the awareness that our Bridegroom will soon appear.

Jesus illustrated this truth through the parable of the ten virgins. They were all waiting for the Bridegroom, but not all of them were prepared for His arrival. Five were wise and five were foolish. When the Bridegroom seemed to delay, they became drowsy and slept. Then suddenly the cry went out that the Bridegroom was coming. The wise were prepared, but the foolish discovered that their lamps were not ready. While they went away to make preparations, the Bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready entered with Him, and the door was shut.

Those are sobering words. The lesson is simple but powerful: when the Bridegroom arrives, there will be no time left to prepare for His arrival. Preparation must take place before the cry is heard. Readiness cannot be borrowed from someone else. The foolish virgins could not depend upon the oil of the wise. Each person had to be prepared personally. Jesus used this picture to remind us that His coming will be sudden and that we must live in continual readiness.

The world around us may grow increasingly indifferent to the coming of Christ. People may laugh at the idea. Others may simply become tired of hearing about it. Even Christians may say, “We have heard this for years.” But the passing of time does not make the promise of God less certain. If anything, every passing day brings us one day closer to its fulfillment. God's timetable is not determined by human impatience or unbelief. What He has promised, He will accomplish.

Do not allow the apathy of the world to extinguish your expectancy. Do not allow the distractions of this life to cause your lamp to grow dim. Do not allow delay to become an excuse for spiritual sleep. Stay awake. Keep your heart anchored in the Word of God. Keep sharing the Gospel. Keep looking upward. Keep your lamp burning.

Jesus has already told us how to live while we wait: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).

The Bridegroom is coming.

The question is not whether He will come. The question is whether we will be living in expectancy when He does.

So stay awake. Keep your lamp burning. Keep your eyes upon Jesus.

Be ready!

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Keep Your Lamp Burning