Gird Up Your Loins
Luke 12:35, 36 – Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.
In the Bible when we see a phrase like “let your waist be girded” or, as the King James reads, “let your loins be gird about,” it is a reference to readiness. Movement would have been impeded by those long robes, so a person readying himself for work or travel needed to “gird up his loins.” That meant he would take the bottom seam of his robe, pull it up between his legs and tuck it in his belt. Then he would be ready for action.
Is readiness a viable issue for modern day believers? The Bible seems to indicate that it is! We don’t have the same long robes to deal with, but we do have responsibilities to fulfill. I’m not referring to religious works or works of the flesh. Thank God we are saved by grace through faith! [Ephesians 2:8] Yet we are saved to serve. Spiritual laziness is frowned upon. Hebrews 6:11, 12 tells us not to be sluggish. James 1:22 encourages us to be doers, not merely hearers. Our “Great Commission” is repeated in different words by Matthew, Mark and Luke. We have a responsibility to be about the business of making disciples. Not much will be accomplished if we’re not READY!
Allow me to share what I consider to be some keys to girding our loins today.
#1 – Accept the responsibility.
We’re all in the same boat here. My calling may differ from yours, but we’re all called. There is something for everyone to do. God doesn’t need “bench warmers.” There are no true barriers to participation. No age discrimination. Galatians 3 indicates neither male nor female, no ethnic boundaries, or even any economic roadblocks. I’ve discovered that even when facing physical challenges, God can use me. This is good news!
#2 – Know that you’re qualified.
Repeat after me: “Jesus is my qualification!” You see, you may have tried before and failed miserably. You may have been told that you can’t do it. You may feel like you’ll just mess things up. Maybe you were a poor student or just never finished anything you started before now. Check out scripture: God used those whose resumes contained failures and low recommendations. He even used a donkey! He can use you.
#3 – Believe that you’re gifted.
I Peter 4:10 tells us that we ALL have been given gifts with which to minister. These are grace gifts, meaning we did nothing to earn them. Outside of Jesus we don’t deserve them. But He gave ‘em to us anyway. The purpose of these gifts is clear: not to bless the operator of the gift, but to bless those needing the benefits of the gift. Check out the Amplified version of I Peter 4:9, 10.
Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ’s body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him). 10 As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God’s many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor].
Maybe a better modern day rendering of “gird your loins” would be “roll up your sleeves.” Let’s do it! As a congregation, let’s roll up our sleeves and get busy with the work of the Kingdom. As the slogan goes, “Just do it!”