Busy Doing

“Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.” (Mt 24:44-46 AV)

 Note here that being ready means doing.  When we think of being ready, we think of preparing everything that needs to be done and then sit and wait for it all to happen.  This is not what Christ thinks.  He is telling His disciples, and by extension, us, that to be ready is to be busy.  This suggests there will always be something that needs to be done and we will never accomplish all that needs to be done.  The action of doing is the manifestation of being ready and not that all our tasks are completed.  This also suggests there is more to be done that can be done.  That being the case, this gives us no permission to slack off because there is more to be done that can be done.  Our application is clear.  We do not know what Christ will come and the proof of being ready is to see how much of the task list can be checked off before the trumpet blows knowing all of it cannot be accomplished.

This brings to mind many games with the same objective.  The playing screen or surface continues and eventually, the player is trapped and can move no further.  The game ends and the individual player is awarded a score based on how many levels were accomplished in the allotted time.  One of the earliest of such games was Tetris.  In the game of Tetris, there are five or six different shapes of blocks falling from the top.  The player can rotate these blocks and nest them at the bottom.  The object is to get a line or more of solid blocks across the bottom.  This is not always possible.  There may arise gaps.  Hence the problem.  As gaps accumulate upward, there is less room to work with.  As the game progresses, the blocks fall faster and faster.  There is no point in the game when blocks cease to fall.  When there are blocks all the way to the top, the game ends.  These games, to me, are extremely stressful.  I like to accomplish goals and go on to the next one.  Once the goal is completed, I like to take on a new and different challenge and put the old one behind me.  Tetris was fun, but after a while, it was nerve-racking.  Give me a game of checkers or something where there is an end to it and I am all in.  Not these never-ending challenges. Ugh.

However, this is life.  There will always be more things to be done that can possibly be done.  When one thing is accomplished, it is replaced by ten more things.  When we consider our service to the LORD, it is no different.  This is especially true the closer we get to the LORD’s return.  It is no time to let the blocks fall and stack to the top because we are overwhelmed with how many there are and how fast they are falling.  It is time to prioritize what we can get done and get it done.  Using calendars, flow charts, scheduling software, etc. are all ways to accomplish more.  Our temptation is to let it all slide because we know the blocks are going to keep coming and there is nothing we can do to stop it.  Or, we can look at life for what it is.  An opportunity to do as much for the LORD as is possible before He decides it is our turn to come home.  That is our challenge!