_READY!_
"_Let your loins be girded about._"
--LUKE xii. 35-40.
Loose garments can be very troublesome. An Oriental robe, if left
ungirdled, entangles the feet, or is caught by the wind and hinders one's
goings. And therefore the wearer binds the loose attire together with a
girdle, and makes it firm and compact about his body. And loose principles
can be more dangerous than loose garments. Indefinite opinions, caught by
the passing wind of popular caprice, are both a peril and a burden. Many
people go through life with loose beliefs and purposes, and they never
arrive at any glorious goal. "Let your loins be girded about." Bind your
loose thinkings together with the girdle of truth into firm and saving
conviction.
"_And your lights burning._"
Be ready for the emergency. When the darkness falls, don't have to hasten
away to buy oil. Look after your resources, and be competent to meet the
crisis when it comes. Let the light of conscience be burning with clear
flame, like a brilliant lighthouse on a dangerous shore. Let the light of
love be burning, like a lamp which sends its friendly, cheery beams to the
pilgrims of the night. "Our sufficiency is of God," and the oil of grace
will keep the lights burning through the longest night.