Keep Watch

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

KEEP WATCH

Mark 13:32-37

32 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 35 "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back — whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'" 

NIV

There have been some even in our time who have declared the time has come for the end of the world, stating the exact date of when it will happen. How absurd of them, and anyone who listens to them, especially in light of these words of Jesus, the one person who knows the truth about the end of the world as we know it. If any of us, which then would be all of us, knew the hour and the day that Jesus would return to gather his elect from the four corner of the earth, we could then live a life of complete self-gratification up to the night before and the knee down and ask for the forgiveness of our sin and turn the remaining twelve hours left of our lives to Jesus. We could be just as that thief on the cross. But that is not the case, even Jesus who knows all things, does not know this thing. The Father is the only one who has made that decision and he alone knows when it is. Jesus uses the words “Keep Watch” several times within this short portion of his long response to the question of when will all this happen. No of course Jesus was not inferring that we should not lie down at night and sleep, but he was telling us that we should not be lulled to sleep spiritually by false teachers or prophets, or because we get so accustom to our lifestyle here on earth that we are not watching for his return. His return should be the foremost thought on our minds and we should always be cognizant of the fact it could happen at any moment. We would think that should keep us on guard, on watch, always looking out the door or window looking for the master to come back for us. But it would appear at times that we have become so entangled in life, even church life, which we never much talk about the return of Jesus. We even spent more time talking about what we should be doing before between the time he left and the time he comes back, then we do about the fact he is coming back and we should be ready. Being ready does not include a list of deeds we should be doing, but being ready is being ready, keeping watch for his return, our staff in our hand sitting on the edge of our sit and ready to go in an instants notice. Now sure, we should not just actually sit and do nothing at all, but spiritually ready is ready to go in a moment’s notice. Yes we should serve our Lord, but not get so busy serving that we are not watching. Therefore let us keep watch.