Watchfulness

"Be dressed and 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. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
- Luke 12:35-40

In 2003, the summer I turned fourteen, I attended a ten day teen conference: Nazarene Youth Conference. The conference, in Houston, Texas, was a gathering of teenagers from across the United States, all of whom were affiliated with the Nazarene church. The format has changed a lot since the year I went, but this particular year, we had an opening ceremony, and then each day following, we had big services each morning and evening; during the day we had options of various seminars and small groups to attend; one day we participated in a community service project; one day we went to Six Flags (but it was miserably hot and humid... particularly for someone who was used to dry, desert heat); each night, there were concerts available for us to attend if we chose to do so.

With so much activity crammed into such a short amount of time, I have forgotten most of what occurred during the week. I do not remember the names of most of the speakers. I have forgotten the names of most of the artists who performed, and I cannot remember the topics of many of the seminars I attended. I can vividly remember only one service from that week. It was the first service of the entire conference, and she was the very first speaker of the week. This woman was not even the main speaker; she spoke only briefly before introducing the main speaker of the evening. But what she said spoke profoundly to my fourteen-year-old heart, and it changed the way that I would live my life from that point on.

The speaker (I wish I remembered her name) related the passage above to infatuation. When someone is in the beginning stages of a dating relationship, she is totally smitten with her new significant other: She dresses for him, wearing clothes that she knows he will like. She takes extra time on her hair. If she thinks there is even the smallest possibility of him showing up at her front door, she takes extra time scrubbing the entire house from top to bottom, until there is not even one streak on a window or a crumb on the floor. After she has thoroughly cleaned the house, she will prepare herself again for the time when she may see her lover. When all the preparations have been made, she will sit by the door, or gaze out the window, until she sees him coming up the drive. She has prepared herself, her home, and her heart for the one whom she desires.

As any fourteen- year-old girl may, I thought I grasped this concept clearly. I had the BIGGEST crush on a boy at school. I dressed for him, prepared for him, did for him things that were completely irrational in the eyes of others. I knew people thought I was being silly, or even foolish, but that did not stop me from doing what I was doing. And what I was doing, basically, was living for the one whom I thought I loved.

I still agree with that: when we are in love with a person, it changes the way we live. But when we truly love someone; when we make the choice to really love them, with no strings attached, it changes the way we live on a completely different level. The change becomes more real, more sacrificial, more lasting.

Thus, seven years later, this passage has new meaning, and added significance, to me. I am older now, and I have someone in my life whom I truly and deeply love, with a love that goes far beyond infatuation. Beginning to understand what it is like to live life loving another person, and beginning to understand what it is like to live life knowing that I have the love of that other person in return, has opened my heart to another aspect of this passage of Scripture that I did not have the maturity to recognize years ago.

When we love someone, we open our whole selves to them.

We do prepare for them: I love to look pretty for Andrew. I love to cook for him; I love to clean for him; and I love to do things for him.

Amidst all of our preparation; however, we do not attempt to cover up who we really are. When we are secure in the love of another, we allow them to see our flaws; we discuss our shortcomings with them; we let them in to the dusty, dingy, dark places of our hearts; we allow them to come in and change us; we allow them to help us grow, and to grow along with us.

Yes, we should prepare our hearts and minds for service to Christ (verse 35), but this does not mean that we should be fearful of what Christ will do if our lives are imperfect. Being imperfect is not a reason not to open the door the Christ when He does arrive. Contrarily, it is the reason TO open the door for Him. His entrance through it can bring redemption to a broken life (Ephesians 1:7- "In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace").

Christ wants to see every part of us; Christ does see every part of us. A significant part of being watchful and ready is simply opening our hearts to Christ: being vulnerable, being mold-able, and being shape-able. Christ does not expect us to be perfect; he expects us to love Him. He does not expect spotlessness; if this were possible, His death would not have been necessary. Christ asks that we recognize our shortcomings and our need for His presence and change in our lives. These are the things that make us ready for service to Him.