Watch Sunday’s Sermon – Week 8 of “Fan or Follower – Keep Watch!” (LISTEN HERE).
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Keeping watch and being prepared are hard work.
When you know something is going to happen or someone is going to arrive, it is easier to be prepared and to watch for their arrival. For example, if you are having family over for Thanksgiving and you know that they are going to arrive on Wednesday before between 5 & 6pm, you know the things you have to do to be ready (wash the sheets, clean the guest room, etc.) Then on that Wednesday, you begin watching for them around 4:45 and within 60 minutes or so, your watching is done…they arrived!
However, if those same relatives said, “We’re going to come for a visit, but we don’t know when and we’re not sure when we will show up,” you may quickly lose any anticipation or preparedness. The guest room will accumulate a few boxes that need to be stored. The cats will find a place to nap and leave some extra fur. The room will be “ok” but not “ready.” And, you aren’t going to wait around for them. You go to work, school, run errands, etc. because while you know they will show up sometime, you aren’t going to pause life to wait around.
So it is with Christ’s return.
It’s easy to forgo the effort to be ready. It’s common to surmise “He’s not coming today.”
We’d much rather have the exact time and day. Then we can carry on life and give ourselves enough time to bolster our faith and engage in activity that blesses the kingdom of God.
Perhaps this is why when someone of some prominence predicts the end of the world, people latch on to it. It gives them a day to plan for and prepare for.
Yet, none of those have come true and so we wait. We watch. We remain vigilant.
Why? Because there are regular indications the time could be any time.
Jesus gave us hints of what to look for:
Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
So the daily news is a daily reminder that today Jesus could return.
So how are we ready?
Again Jesus highlights two things: Confident trust in him as your Savior and dedication to hearing his Words in the pages of the BIble.
John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
John 6:39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
I wish we had the day and time. But we don’t. So today we must be vigilant and be ready!
Apply: What is one thing you can do today to strengthen your faith in Jesus or build your awareness and trust of his truth in the Bible?
Prayer: Lord thank you for not telling me when you will return. I would probably push off my relationship with you and not enjoy it every day. Help me to always stay prepared and ready to meet you when you return. AMEN.