REFLECTION FOR TODAY,
October 20, 2020
By Fr. Andrew Ibegbulem, OSA
Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.” Luke 12:35-36
Jesus calls us to be vigilant and ready. There is this old adage “Always begin with your end in mind.” “End” in this case refers to one’s goal. Many people, of course, wander through life aimlessly, but Christians are meant to have Heaven as their goal, or end. In this case, repeating that adage to ourselves each day helps us to live each day for God, by recalling that we can only get to Heaven by living out our faith in God. This way of thinking approximates what Jesus is getting at in His parable.
However, there’s an immediacy to Jesus’ parable that’s missing in that adage. His parable reminds us of a sobering fact: that we know not the day nor the hour when our lives will end. The Master may come at an unexpected time. Therefore, we need not only always to be focused, but also to be vigilant, since the end we have in mind may confront us today.
An important word to consider from our Bible reference is “open immediately” when Jesus comes and knocks on the door of our heart. This passage reveals the disposition that we are to have in our hearts regarding the way Christ comes to us, by grace, and “knocks.”
Jesus is knocking on your heart. He is continually coming to you seeking to come in and recline with you so as to converse, strengthen, heal and help. The question to honestly ponder is whether or not you are ready to let Him in immediately. Too often we hesitate in our encounter with Christ. Too often we want to know the full plan for our lives before we are willing to submit and surrender.
What we must come to know is that Jesus is trustworthy in every way. He has the perfect answer to every question we have, and He has the perfect plan for every aspect of our lives. Do you believe this? Do you accept this as true? Once we accept this truth, we will be better prepared to open the door of our heart at the first prompting of grace. We will be prepared to be immediately attentive to all that Jesus wants to say to us and to the grace He wants to give us.
Reflect, today, upon how ready you are to open immediately every part of your life to the grace and will of God. Let Him in with great joy and enthusiasm and let His plan continue to unfold in your life.
Lord, I do wish to let You into my life more deeply each and every day. I desire to hear Your voice and respond generously. Give me the grace to respond to You as I ought. Jesus, I trust in You.