Inductive Bible Study March 4

IBS Friday March 4

Luke 12:37-40

“Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

This passage is saying that if we are found watching when God returns, we will be blessed. We should always be on the watch so that we can stop the thief from breaking into the house. Jesus, our Master, will come at a time we don’t expect. This verse is a call to be ready. Being ready means being faithful in where God’s placed you at any given moment, assured that He will be coming at any time. Matthew 24:45-47 says, “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.” 

We are assured of this. We can have confidence that if we are faithful over the house that God has given us to rule over while we wait for His return, that when He does return and find us doing well, we will be greatly rewarded. If we are not walking faithfully in what we’ve been entrusted, there’s no condemnation because we are in Christ Jesus. Yet, we are called into a deeper relationship than just simply believing, which still results in salvation. But, God wants to give us so much more than the basic things.

Psalm 1 explains this higher calling,

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

The household that God has made us ruler over is His church. We are asked to “feed” this house. Being faithful and wise as a servant of God, we will be blessed as we feed this household. It may not mean any visible blessings that the world is so accustomed to expecting, but our reward will be great in heaven.

As a child, I used to wait so anxiously for when my Dad came home from his business. Every day I eagerly waited in the front of our house for when he came home. When I saw the reflection of his truck as he pulled in the driveway, I would run outside to give him a hug. There was never a day where I wasn’t excited to see my dad come home from working. I’d make sure I had all my chores done before so that when he came home we could go out to the motorcycle garage and spend some time together and even take the dirtbikes to the track. In the same way, I should have this kind of a relationship with my heavenly Father.

Application: today I am going to dig into God’s word and ask Him how I might be more like a tree planted by rivers of water and that I would ready for His return when He comes.