By David ReayTuesday 17 Feb 2015LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Mark 13:32-37
32 “However,no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen,not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 33 And since you don’t know when that time will come,be on guard! Stay alert!
34 “The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home,he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do,and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. 35 You,too,must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return-in the evening,at midnight,before dawn,or at daybreak. 36 Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. 37 I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!” (NLT)
We can get rather preoccupied about what might happen in the future. About the vast and complex issues facing our world. And in so doing,we get distracted from what we are to do at this very moment. Jesus warns his followers not to get preoccupied with details of his return. Trying to figure all that out is an exercise in futility. Our task is not to do the fine calculations and sometimes bizarre speculation as to the return of Jesus. Our task is to stay at our posts and be faithful.
This requires great attentiveness to what God is doing in this very moment. Life can slip through our fingers like water as we miss the special moments God is granting us. The seemingly random meetings,the surprising turn of events,the mundane realities of domestic and work life-all are opportunities for God to weave his good purposes into our lives.
We tend to live in the past or the future. Regrets about the past,fears about the future,may blur our perception of what is happening right here and right now. Worrying about what might or might not be God’s will for us in the grand scheme of things may blind us to what might be his will in the very present moment.
God can only be with us in the present because that is the only experienced reality. The past has gone and the future has not happened yet. We are thus left with the present and with God’s presence in it.
Blessings
David Reay