Jesus often taught by telling parables. A parable is a story used to illustrate a truth. The idea is to get the central point of the story rather than to dwell on the details. In one particular parable Jesus had good news for servants who lived in a state of readiness. He said, “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, [the master] will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.”

We might not catch the significance at first of what Jesus was saying, but it was a real shocker to his first listeners. He was saying that responsible servants would be in a state of readiness when their master returned home. This would delight the master so much that the master himself would dress for work, have his servants recline at the dining room table, and serve them himself. That would be an astonishing reward.

The point that Jesus was making was that God will greatly bless and reward those who live their lives in constant personal readiness for God. Does that mean that we are to be motivated by the promise of reward or the fear that we might be caught unprepared? No – we are to stay ready for God because it’s the right thing to do!