Until He Comes
How should we employ the energy and time God gives us? All of us live with the certainty that life as we know it will not go on indefinitely. Our physical human lives will draw to a close. That is inescapable. So how do we live the days we do have. Let's work on the assumption that while the end is sure, we don't know when it will be. This ignorance prompts us to muddle along without much of a plan at all. If, however, we knew for sure that life would end at some certain point 50, 20, or even 2 years from now, we would probably live much more purposefully. We’d make some plans and live quite differently until the big day arrived.
Because we don’t know when that “big day” is, life tends to be a bit unfocussed. If we knew for sure when the Lord would return or when we would die, be it next week, next year or whenever, we would make the seconds count a lot more than we do.
The fact is, we don't know exactly when the end will come – whether we’re talking about “the end of the age” or the end of our individual lives. There's no point in speculating. It's clear that God has chosen to leave His timetable open-ended. But he didn't leave us without some indication of what he expects from us in the meantime. Several passages in the Bible reveal what God has in mind for us during this chapter of our life.
I can think of a couple of things right away. Jesus' advice to his disciples is recorded in a number of places but we can consider Mark 13 specifically. There, Jesus is talking with his followers. Speaking of his return and the great events which will be set in motion by that event, He tells them 32 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 "It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming - in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning - 36 "lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!" The two things mentioned in this passage are to watch and to pray. Interestingly the emphasis here is definitely on the watching. It is mentioned four times in these few verses.
This is more than just a command to not fall asleep. One can be wakeful but not watchful. Jesus here tells his followers to "Watch" and that implies more diligence and action than merely being awake. Believers need to be alert for a couple of reasons. One is to watch out for danger – for potential harm which might come along.
Then, in the very next chapter, Jesus tells his disciples to watch and pray so that they wouldn't be overtaken by temptation. We certainly have to be alert to sin around us. If we aren't, we can easily find ourselves sliding into compromise with evil. (14:38)
Paul, in his first letter to the Christians at Corinth, warned them to watch and stand firm in the faith, being strong and brave. So it is important to be alert in regard to our faith. There are many lies and half-truths masquerading as God's truth that require us to be alert, sifting the wheat from the chaff. (16:13)
He told the believers in Thessalonica to watch and be sober. We live at a time when little is taken seriously. The two most common reactions to faith seem to be hostility and humour. We can be distracted by that which is frivolous and entertaining, so Paul warns about this. (5:6)
Not only do we need to watch - to be alert - to these dangers, but we need divine discernment and supernatural strength to deal with them.
God had a reason for putting "watch" and "pray" together. There's one more obvious thing we should be watching for though, and that is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a sense in which Christians should constantly be scanning the skies. That kind of attitude will affect how we respond to the world around us. It will keep our values sure and our motives pure.
Ron Hughes
© June 2007
