His previous life had been that of the Perfect Ideal Israelite – believing, unquestioning, submissive – in preparation for that which, in His thirteenth year, He had learned as its business. The Baptism of Christ was the last act of His private life; and, emerging from its waters in prayer, He learned: when His business was to commence, and how it would be done.
Alfred Edersheim

Christians: “Do the Doing”

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Jesus and the apostles are in the room where the supper is ready. After they ate of the supper Jesus got up from the table and took a basin with some water in it, and a towel, and he went from one apostle to another, washing their feet. Why did Jesus wash the apostles' feet as if he were their servant? It was to set them an example of being kind to each other and of being willing to wait on each other. It was to teach them not to be proud.

For many years, I have worked on projects along with several people living in India.  Occasionally, they use interesting phrases (that bring a smile to my face) that are different from how we usually speak in the USA, such as “Please do the needful”.  So I remember them, and their gracious hard work, as I titled this article.  🙂

And speaking of hard work is today’s topic – what work must we do, as Christians?  You know that there *is* an expectation, on God’s part, for how we live our lives.  Jesus tells several parables starting out with “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” that define God’s expectations for us – this one is from Matthew 25 (The Message):

14-18 “[The Kingdom of Heaven is] like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.

19-21 “After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’

22-23 “The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’

24-25 “The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’

26-27 “The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.

28-30 “‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’

Lesson:  God has invested in us, and expects a return on His investment.  We have responsibilities.

And a beautiful comparison is drawn in many places of the Bible, presenting God’s people as the Bride of Christ.

Revelation 19:7  “Let’s rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let’s give the glory to him. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.”

Lesson:  We, His Church, are responsible to MAKE OURSELVES READY to unite with Him.

If we develop a Wedding Planning Checklist for the bride (of Christ – WE are his bride), what tasks would be on it?

  1. Invite family and friends
  2. Learn about my to-be-husband’s living style and expectations
  3. Understand His Love Language, and reciprocate – He is generous, and loves all the people in the world
  4. Get to know and be known/liked by His family – He wants to adopt, and have a HUGE family
  5. Think of ways to make the house He lives in more beautiful – He wants it to be filled with all the people it can hold
  6. Dress myself in ways that I know He likes
  7. Be ready to go/move into His home after the wedding
  8. Thank my friends and family for helping to bring me to this point in life
  9. Get, send out, and follow the directions to get to the wedding venue (Heaven)
  10. Attend wedding rehearsals (church)
  11. Be ready to travel on wedding day, whenever He calls – because the exact time is a surprise!

 

Let us help each other be ready for Wedding Day!

Edit Jul 22, 2023:  David Levy writes an informative article about The Marriage Supper of the Lamb – see the section titled “Marriage Service” to understand how the ‘marriage of the Lamb is patterned after the Jewish marriage customs of biblical times.’