A young couple has their first child. As they sit down to examine their new budget, which now includes diapers, baby food and new clothes every six months, they begin to think even farther ahead. One day the little darling will be in school and they wonder what kind of student they’ll be raising. But that thought leads them to the realization that college will also be on the horizon, a mere eighteen years away. So in their budget, they decide to put aside funds to prepare for the college education of their precious angel. They are living prospectively at this point. Living now with the events of the future in view.
We’re going to be reading Luke 12:35-48 this Sunday. Jesus will be encouraging us, his followers, to live prospectively as well. Living now with the reality of the end in view. The church is apocalyptic by nature. We’ve invested a lot in life after life here, so it makes sense that this is a big subject for us. Jesus has some fairly somber warnings and quite radical encouragements for us all tied together in this section of ch 12.
The overall theme of these verses is that we as the church are supposed to be ready for the end. The end of the world? Sure, Jesus seems to have that in view, but I would say the end can also include our own, individual lives. Either Christ will return, or we will die…either way, we ALL are facing an end of time here. Jesus uses that fact to challenge us to consider how we are living right now. He warns us to be ready.
Some people not only try to live ready, they obsess about the end. Sometimes people feel more ready for the end if they can create elaborate charts that explain when the end will come. Others stockpile food, some hide in the woods. None of those things are things Jesus encourages in this passage though.
As you look at the examples he gives through the use of parable, what do you think living ready means in our everyday life? Knowing that is the key to actually being ready for the end.
Definitely stuff to think about, huh?
WONDERWHAT 
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Jesus’ opening here in verse 35 provides a present context. He isn’t discussing a future, He is discussing a present way to live for the future. If we look simply to the future then we will miss the point of the present. Verse 40 all but mocks the charts and ideas people have about Christ’s return. Maybe those who feel most prepared are actually the one’s who are most susceptible to a break-in. Maybe they are drunk on false, self-righteous knowledge and beating servants down by missing the point Jesus is making about the present. The most wise thing we can know about His return may be the recognition that we know very little. We know He is coming, we know we should live accordingly, but otherwise we know not. With all of the Old Testament prophecies, Jesus still came to the world in such an unexpected manner. With comparatively few prophecies of His return, it seems both ignorant and arrogant to have any concrete expectations. We know it will be good, we know it will be glorious, we know it will be born out of love. And we can live this out in the present.
What I am getting out of theses verses is that because we know Him and know the end of the story, we can live differently from those who don’t know. Everyday we have choices and decisions to make. Will they be decisions based on the truth of what Jesus has taught us or will we respond like people who have not heard His words ever spoken before? We can trust Him and His Love for us, therefore we can live as though we believe Him. To whom much is given, much is required. I want to share this amazing gift with others who don’t know Him.
First of all I sure wish Jesus would tell when he is switching from story to story. Servants, thiefs, then servants. Gees. Anyway, I believe these versus tell us we should always be ready. Always trying to live our lives as He would want, but keeping it simple. Don’t spend hours trying to amaze (or condemn) people into following Christ with how many versus you can quote. We must try and LIVE our lives making a difference. These views are frequently used by authors of success. In other words, “sieze the day”….with GOD!