My Father’s Business

Do you have your shoes on? I assume you do. But this question is one that gets asked a lot at my house. Before we go anywhere, we want to know if the boys are ready to go. Being boys, they don’t have to worry about having their car keys, or wallets, or driver licenses, or purses or favorite Barbie dolls – all that we ask is that you have your shoes on when we are ready to walk out the door!

There is a similar instruction in the Gospel: Gird your loins.

We don’t often say that one around our house (although this too, along with the shoes, is probably needed). But it has the same intent as the command to get your shoes on. In fact, the force of the command is stronger.

“Gird your loins and have your lamps lit.” Luke 12.35

The command to gird the loins refers to the clothing a servant might wear in those times. “The long flowing robes of the east were a hindrance to work; and when a man prepared to work he gathered up his robes under his belt to leave himself free for activity.”
(Barclay)

In other words, “Be dressed for action,” as NRSV translates it. Don’t be in your pajamas lounging around. Don’t be in impractical clothing. Be dressed in work clothes ready to work.

Why? Because the Kingdom of God is here.

“It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12.32

And what is the Kingdom? It is wherever and whomever God rules. To be ready for the kingdom is to have the knowledge and understanding as well as the experience that God is in control. So example, as Jesus teaches in the preceding passage, you don’t have to worry about your clothes and your food – our heavenly Father knows that we need these things. God is in control and he’ll take care of it. But let’s be clear – this is a not teaching to use as excuse for laziness or passivity. The citizen of the kingdom has the understanding that we don’t have to worry over these things and the acquisition of clothing and wealth is not our highest priority.

John Wesley used to teach the Methodists to earn all they can, save all they can, and give all they can. He instructed them to do this so that their lives could have maximum impact on the world around them. They could feed themselves by their hard work, and by their diligent saving they could give all they can to those in need around them.

In his book, Financial Peace, Dave Ramsey merely restates Wesley for today –
Avoid the worship of stuff, Plant Seeds by giving money away, Live substantially below your income, Sacrifice now so you can have peace later.

If you trust God and do it God’s with our finances, for example, then the child of the kingdom can freely “Sell their possessions, give to those in need and make their treasure (what they would die for) something much more valuable than money and possessions.

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Verse 34

“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds alert when he comes.” Verse 37

The servant cares about what the master cares about. The servant is ready. He is dressed for action. He is doing the master’s will whether the master seems close or far away.

And do hear the note of urgency? We’ve got to work while there is time to work! We are burning daylight. “It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.” Church, we have to the good steady work of understanding and experiencing the Kingdom. But we most of all have to do the urgent work of proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom to an unsaved world.

This past Monday morning a few of us came to the church to do Kingdom work and discovered a dead boy right here outside our building. He took his own life because he didn’t see anything good about his life. He was hopeless. He was in a dark pit and couldn’t see anyway out. He listened to the lies.

One of your church youth remarked that it was particularly sad that this boy died within feet of a place of hope.

I have before used the phrase “people are dying without the saving grace of the kingdom.” Lord, please, no more reminders like this one. As we gathered Thursday in the parking lot, I told the group of about sixty teenagers and young adults that no one is to blame for Adam’s death. But church I’m going to say to you this morning that we are responsible. We are in some sense responsible for our community and these generations and a young man who lived across the street from our building and took his life in our parking lot. How are we responsible you may ask?

We are responsible to care and to do everything we can to bless our community with God’s love so something like this doesn’t happen again. We have to work hard to bless people near and far. As we heard last week from Matt Keiser, missionary in La Ceiba., Honduras, people are living in garbage dumps and thinking that’s what life is. We have work to do. We have to show that for the lie that it is.

As Jesus said, “I must be about my Father’s business.” Luke 2.49

Jesus is urgent about the work the Father gave him to do. Why isn’t the church of Jesus urgent about the work?
Finally, we must be ready because the part of the Kingdom that hasn’t come yet, the Judgment, is one day coming, and that very soon.

Bob Dylan has a song called “Are You Ready.” Here are a few of the lyrics:

Are you ready to meet Jesus ?
Are you where you ought to be ?
Will He know you when He sees you
Or will He say, "Depart from Me" ?


Am I ready to lay down my life for the brethren
And to take up my cross ?
Have I surrendered to the will of God
Or am I still acting like the boss ?

Am I ready, hope I'm ready.

When the destruction cometh swiftly
And there's no time to say a fare-thee-well
Have you decided whether you want to be
In heaven or in hell ?

Are you ready, are you ready ?

Have you got some unfinished business ?
Is there something holding you back ?
Are you thinking for yourself
Or are you following the pack ?

Are you ready, hope you're ready
Are you ready ?

Are you ready for the judgement ?
Are you ready for that terrible swift sword ?
Are you ready for Armageddon ?
Are you ready for the day of the Lord ?



I’m convinced that when we live in the Kingdom and seek to work diligently and urgently, God will give us opportunities to proclaim and show good news. God will give us opportunities to have tremendous impact for the Kingdom in our world – if we are ready.

So gird your loins. Get your shoes on. Dress for action. Be about our Father’s business.