Am I in-step with the Master?

As a teacher, I often need to get my students’ attention.  Most of the time, the majority of my students give me their absolute focus when I implement a short countdown…, “I need your attention in 5-4-3-2-1…”  There are the stragglers caught up in their own world that take their time tuning in and then later have a multitude of questions…questions that were already answered in the directions given…  And then there are the students who give me their attention even before I ask for it… 

How is that possible?  These are the students who have learned to be attuned to me and attuned to what is happening in the classroom; they are present and in the moment.  They are hard-working, focused, and get things done.  They are not necessarily the most intelligent students in the room nor are they the most unintelligent students in the room.  They are, simply put, the most self-disciplined students in the room.   

Before I ever say a word, they sense change coming.  If I have set a time limit to complete a task, they check the clock to make sure they are keeping in step with the allotted time.  They know my methods and expectations.  They notice my movement.  And when the time has come for instruction, information or for action…they are prepared; they are ready for whatever it is that I need them to do. 

It is the same for us.  In Matthew 25, Jesus gives the parable of the ten virgins.  Five were prepared; they had paid attention and listened to instruction and when the time came, they were attuned, focused and ready to go.  He says in Luke 12:37a,38, “Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching…And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.”   

In Luke 21, Jesus talks in depth about signs to watch for before He returns and even tops it off in verse 36 with instructions to watch and pray.  In fact, there are countless scriptures that speak to being prepared, to listening, to watching and praying.   

Today, let’s ask ourselves:  “Am I in-step with the Master?  Do I know His methods?  Do I sense His movement?  Am I actively working on the tasks He’s set before me to accomplish before His return?  Am I giving Him my attention even before He asks for it?”  Let’s get focused and let’s see what the Lord will do.