MONDAY January 20th
I suggest that if you have the time, you turn to and read Matthew 25:1-13 but I will use verse 13 as the basis for the devotion:
‘Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.’
This is the last parable I am going to turn to in this series, for if I went to all of them, it would become a series on its own, but I have chosen this one to link to the theme ‘Jesus the very thought of thee . . .’ for there is something about our thoughts of Jesus which should cause us to have a longing in our hearts for the fulfilment of his promise that he would one day return again. 6
And this parable is a very clear warning from the lips of Jesus himself that we should not only be waiting and watching, but we must be ready for when he comes! I wonder and I must ask myself the same question, as to are we ensuring that we are ready for when he comes again.
Clearly in this parable there were a group of individuals who assumed they were ready, when in fact they had been keeping themselves so busy with other matters that they had failed to ensure they had sufficient oil to keep their lamps trimmed and burning, and the final verdict from the lips of the bridegroom was ‘’I do not know you’!
When I was growing up as a child and into my teens, the subject of the Lord’s return was a regular feature in the preaching and the teaching in the local church, so much so that we were often enthralled with it and of course determined to ensure we were ready and living in expectancy, somehow, the emphasis has become lost, and alongside it the subject concerning how we should be living and conducting ourselves in this world as the children of God.
As a result, the importance of being ready and the need to be waiting and watching no longer seems to grip us as it should do.
And yet if it was a warning from Jesus 2000 years ago, it stands to reason that we are living closer today than ever before to his appearing, and as we see the mess and the confusion in this world, there should be a longing in our hearts for him to come and to take us into his presence.
Yet, sadly how many choose to live with what I will call spiritual carelessness, rather than ensuring their lamps are trimmed and burning they will flirt with the things of the world.
Jesus is coming again, and the thought of this and our thoughts concerning Jesus should inspire us to live in expectant hope, and as Paul says as he talks of this subject in 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 18 ‘Therefore encourage one another with these words’.
Jesus the very thought of thee—the very thought of his coming again should thrill our hearts and fill us with joy, the very same hymn continues with these words ‘But sweeter far thy face to see and in thy presence rest’.