What are You Up To?

Matthew 24:45-46
(45)  "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?
(46)  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

(45)  Τίς ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ πιστὸς δοῦλος καὶ φρόνιμος ὃν κατέστησεν ὁ κύριος ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκετείας αὐτοῦ τοῦ δοῦναι αὐτοῖς τὴν τροφὴν ἐν καιρῷ;

(46)  μακάριος ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος ὃν ἐλθὼν ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ εὑρήσει οὕτως ποιοῦντα·

It may be a trite way to get kids to behave, but I think that it is fair to ask the question of whether you would be OK if Jesus came back right now.  Obviously if you're reading a blog post about the Bible you're probably feeling pretty good about this moment.  How about other times online?  How about when you're in your car?  How about when you're at the office?  What about when no one else is looking?  Would you be prepared to have Jesus show up at that moment?

The question is, what are you ποιοῦντα?  That is to say, what are you in the present state of doing?  Are you doing God's will?  Are you obeying His Word?  Or are you living for yourself and your own lusts?

I don't think that the point of this verse is to scare us into legalism.  I think the point is for us to examine our lives and see how we live them.  Our lives will indicate our devotion to our Master.  The solution is not to try harder to do better, but to work on the affections of our hearts.  This is why I think that Desiring God and subsequent books from John Piper are so important.  They show us that the best desire is for God.  If we desire Him above all else then we don't need to worry about this verse because then we will automatically be living in obedience to His Word.

Anyone can work on behavior modification.  It takes the Holy Spirit to change the heart.  Has He changed yours?