MEN THAT WAIT FOR THEIR LORD, WHEN HE WILL RETURN FROM THE WEDDING

In using the word ‘rather’ the Lord was commanding His follow­ers to adopt a counter-culture to that which was, and remains, characteristic of the world. The things that pre-occupied people in our Lord’s day are detailed in the verses immediately preced­ing today’s portion: the pampering of the body, fashion, food, industry, prosperity. These matters are still the all consuming passion of our society. Whilst ‘the Father knoweth that ye have need of these things’, ‘men that wait for their lord’ should not make them their priority.

To consider the things of this world as prized possessions is to displace God in our affections, ‘for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’. The Lord’s instruction to the law­yer is timeless in is application, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart’, Mark 12. 30. Material treasures ulti­mately degenerate, they ‘wax old’, can disappoint when they fail, and are precarious and subject to decay. Spiritual invest­ment is the opposite. God’s benefits are ‘incorruptible … undefiled … fadeth not away, reserved in heaven’, 1 Pet. 1. 4. What am I making my treasure?

In light of our Lord’s imminent return, not only should I not be investing in this scene’s fabricated treasure, but I should be careful not to be encumbered by it. ‘Let your loins be girded about’ relates to the practice of lifting the long robes and tucking them into the girdle so as to allow unhindered movement. This was de rigueur for those setting about work or looking to move at pace. It should also characterize us as we await our Lord’s return, 1 Pet. 1. 13.

As those who anticipate the Lord’s arrival, we should nei­ther invest nor become entangled in this world, but rather should be as ‘lights burning’, representing the One who Himself came as ‘a light into the world’, John 12. 46.

Those servants that conduct themselves in this way are repeatedly called ‘blessed’ by the Saviour. As those ‘that love His appearing’, 2 Tim. 4. 8, let us be diligent that we ‘be … ready also’.