“Be Prepared” is not just a great Boy Scout motto—it is a worthy motto for men of valor, too! The Bible tells us many times to be ready, be alert, be on guard, be prepared.
Those who are saved are clothed in righteousness, prepared with the proper garments to be welcomed into God’s kingdom. Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.” (NASB)
So our first responsibility is to be ready to enter God’s kingdom.
Dressed for Action
If you remember Ephesians 6, you’ll know we have the armor of God at our disposal. Wearing it allows us to be prepared to fight fiery darts from Satan. With it, we are called to and prepared for action.
When we are dressed for action, it means we are girded and ready for service. Luke 12:35-40 states, “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes … If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! … You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (ESV).
Did you know that Christ is that master who is away at a wedding feast and will come and knock on the door at an unexpected hour? We are told that Jesus will return like a thief in the night! He is likely to return when we are least alert—but he blesses those who are awake at His coming.
Look at what Jesus says in Mark 13:33-37: “Watch out, stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert. Therefore, stay alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—so that he does not come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all: ‘Stay alert!’” (NASB).
So I need to be ready at all times, focused on serving my Master and on His coming. Dressed in readiness to enter His kingdom means that I have trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior and am dressed in righteousness. And then I am ready to serve Him by tightening my belt as a soldier would do rather than loosening my clothes to sleep. A night watchman at the Temple, if found asleep by the captain of the guard, was liable to have his clothes set on fire! The apostle John was certainly aware of this treatment and refers to its effects in Revelation 16:15.
Applying Readiness
What does preparedness mean to us? How do we put these truths into practice? To keep our lamps burning means we are walking in truth and not allowing our eyes, which are the lamps of our bodies (Luke 11: 34-35), to be deceived by falsehood. We must sift carefully through the things we read and pay attention to. Satan uses many tactics, including half-truths, outright lies, and “exciting” lures to draw us away from God. Put on the armor; tighten those belts; stay awake! Resist.
Peter tells us that we can prepare our minds for action (1 Peter 1:13). We do that by pursuing those things that keep us abiding in Jesus. Read His Word, gather with other men of valor, pray. We want to become like the men of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12:32), knowing the times and what the church needs to do.
We must avoid those things that will take our focus off the imminent return of Christ. Should we be worried over worldly things when Jesus could appear at any time and ask us to account for our service?
Men of valor are alert, ready, dressed for action, prepared.
