In Luke 12 Jesus teaches a story which is often referred to as The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant

Luke 12:35-47 reads “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

“Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?” And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.

But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.”

These scriptures are teachings about “being ready”. Honestly, when I have read these verses or when I have heard them taught I’m often left feeling a sense of anxiety and dread. I don’t think I am alone in that feeling.

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A Saturday Morning Men’s Prayer Story

The silent alarm in my head sounds. I open my eyes and the room is dark. Squinting over at the small, dim green light, the alarm clock shows 6:42am. Ahhh! It’s too late to make the effort to go. But, a voice in my head responds, “No, it’s not.” Alright then, I just don’t want to go. I don’t want to go! I simply don’t want to go! In the words of Tommy Boy, “Me want sleepy!” Soooo much easier on a cold, dark Saturday morning to roll over and just nestle in.

The men’s prayer group has been meeting for most every Saturday morning for over 20 years. I have had the privilege of seeing God do crazy, amazing things among the bleary-eyed, stubble-faced, tussled hair of pre-dawn prayer refugees. Meetings where guys consistently walk out healed, restored and refreshed. Many of the players have changed over the years but someone had always picked up the mantle to keep it going. Guys like Pete and Jim and Dan and Hal were now holding down the fort.

Why do these guys do it? Because these guys who drag themselves out of bed are always satisfied by a God that is a rewarder of those that make the effort to seek Him. And 6am on a Saturday morning is truly making an effort.

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