33 “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 “ Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. 36 Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Luke 12:33-36 (NASB)
One recurring warning throughout the New Testament is that Christians should live in such a way that they will be ready when their Lord returns. What would that life look like? How should we live in order to be ready when He comes and knocks?…
I doubt that it would look like the self-indulgent, pop-culture oriented, heavily marketed, so-called Christian lifestyle that waters down the gospel and breeds “Christians” who are both theologically and scripturally ignorant. They follow “another Jesus” whose creators have designed to fit the image that draws the crowd they want. The “followers” of this “other Jesus” resent any call to live lives of repentance before a Holy God who is to be feared. What does the life look like that is prepared for our Lord’s return?
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:13 (NASB)
The first word in this passage is “therefore” or διὸ. “Therefore” is a good translation. It could also have been rendered as “consequently.” This word is referring back to Peter’s exposition of how Christians are born again to a living hope. In light of the wonders of this salvation given to us in 1 Peter 1:3-12, we are being prepared for the eternal purpose of it and how we should live to be ready for it. The following phrase pertaining to this “therefore” is prepare your minds for action. However, the Greek actually should be translated as “girding up (ἀναζωσάμενοι) the loins (ὀσφύας) of your mind (διανοίας).” The NASB translation states what this colloquialism means to the 21st Century Christian, but the original translation would be like us telling our readers to “fasten their seat belts” or “roll up your sleeves.” This is a way to stress that what is required for the life that is prepared for the coming of the Lord is not one of passivity or laziness, but one prepared for vigorous and sustained spiritual exertion.