Luke 12:35-36,40 – Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men 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. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (NIV)

Sometimes, it takes a period of enforced inactivity to make us look at things from a different perspective. This winter, I suffered a bad attack of the flu. I thought that I'd soon recover and that "tomorrow will be better". But as the days dragged on, I began to fear the worst.

Where had I caught this bug? Was I doing enough to stay healthy and fit? Though active all summer, I hibernate in winter. I fixate on spring. While my brain is at work hatching next summer's grand gardening plan, my body becomes sluggish. Months later, when it's time to start digging, I'm not ready. As I gazed listlessly at the snow outside, I wondered if I were living my life with the future fully in mind. Was I investing what I have — physical fitness — in tomorrow?

The way that we invest in our material property is by keeping it maintained. The same is true of our physical and mental health. We also need to stay financially healthy. Also, we should invest in relationships and the future of others. Are we spiritually healthy as well, keeping our light burning and growing closer to the Lord? Are we investing all that we have today in tomorrow?

We can expect changes, good or bad. But we often put off decisions and resist change. Jesus' parable is a warning. Though human beings tend to live for the day, God has tomorrow in mind. He is the great I AM: the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He never changes. But He does not want us to stay the same. He expects us to be fruitful and multiply.

1 Timothy 6:7 – For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. (NIV)

It is not about what we have, then, but what we do with it.

What if tomorrow is not what we expect? What if Jesus came tonight? How can we be ready?

Luke 10:27a – He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.'" (NIV)

This is what Jesus expects. When we are forced to stop and take stock of life, God may be giving us an opportunity to meditate on the future and become proactive. Are we doing whatever we can with all that we have, to prepare for tomorrow?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are Your servants. You assure us that You will return and that You will expect an account of our lives. We acknowledge that all that we have comes from You. Teach us to be good stewards and to invest today in Your eternal kingdom. Amen.

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About the author:

JJ Ollerenshaw <sandjollie86@gmail.com>
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
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