"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. 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]
Jesus is unlike any other master this world has ever known -what master would consider serving his own servants when He returned to them, and all because they were attentive and ready when He came home? When we read words like these, we really begin to learn how incredible our Savior and God is. He challenges us to be ready, and if we are, the whole house will be completely filled with joy because the Master will be so overjoyed with His servants that He Himself will decide to wait on them. What an incredible thought! The very notion engenders such humility that we can understand why Peter said, “Don’t wash my feet!” But as overwhelming as the thought of our Creator serving us might be, Jesus tells us that good things come to those who watch and wait for His return. In fact, we are told that we are purified by the Spirit of God if we anticipate and love the fact that Jesus is returning for us [1 John 3:3; 2 Timothy 4:8].
Jesus is returning for His Bride. And while the world reels in agony, as a pregnant woman agonizes in anticipation of delivery, our deliverance grows ever nearer. Our Master is returning because the feast is nearly ready. He has attended to every detail and is waiting for the Father’s Word to come and get us. And I feel that Day is coming quickly. And to all who have been united to Christ by faith in His death and resurrection, our deliverance is near. How good it will be for those who are attentive and have been waiting. Jesus tells us to be ready and “dressed.” There is only one article of clothing that will fit the occasion. We had better be clothed with Christ when He returns. We had better be enrobed in righteousness. Where do we get these clothes to make sure that we are properly dressed for the wedding feast? Please read these words: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were immersed into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ,” [Galatians 3:26-27]. The immersion spoken of here is immersion by water. The immersion [baptism] that is most frequently spoken of in the New Testament is immersion by water, performed by the Spirit of God.
Have you been immersed? Have you been united with Christ by immersion [Romans 6]? Are you dressed for the wedding banquet? Because you’ve got to be properly dressed for the occasion –or you won’t be welcome:
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. `Friend,' he asked, `how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, `Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are invited, but few are chosen," [Matthew 22:11-14]
And friends, I want to see all of you there. Please don’t make excuses or try to avoid what Jesus has commanded. Please consider obeying the Lord God Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the Ruler of all Creation and the King whose Kingdom will never end. Give Him the victory in your own personal life, and put your RSVP in right away, so that the Master can count on your attendance at the greatest Banquet there will ever be. Please consider immersion baptism and allow the Spirit of God to seal your life with God’s promise for all eternity. Please don’t miss the boat! Consider this Easter Sunday (or better yet, even right now) as the time when you will pick up your wedding clothes, the Master already knows your size…
Love in Jesus,
George