Matthew 24:36-44
The Necessity for Watchfulness
‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
Reflection - The Thieves
I overheard it all! I overheard the conversation as I was walking the dogs along the street. It was a cold day, so I was wrapped up like you wouldn't believe. Talk about putting on the layers. I had a sweater under a sweatshirt, under a heavy coat with the hood of the sweatshirt pulled up, the full face mask pulled down and heavy gloves. It was my turn to walk the dogs that my wife and I had agreed to watch for the weekend. So, as I stopped in front of the house on the corner of the street, I could hear a couple of guys in the car talking about the time that I would usually go to work in the morning. I overheard them say something to the effect that if they waited to the moment that I shut the garage door, that they could intercept the garage door opener code and get in through the garage whenever they wanted. But, I didn't know what time they would make the attempt.
The next morning on my way to work, as I left the driveway, I closed the garage door as usual. I thought about that little pick-up truck with those guys in it. Sure enough, to my back and about a half-block away there was the truck parked by the house behind me. I couldn't tell if anyone was in the car or not, but I tried to see the best I could.
When I got to work, I questioned the security guard if someone could really steal the code from a garage door opener like what I had overheard. The guard verified positively that this could happen and does happen all of the time. So, I immediately called home to see if all was OK. It was. I asked Joyce, my wife if she could see a little pick-up truck parked by the neighbors house. Joyce, told me that there wasn't a truck parked anywhere nearby. She even checked out the side windows to see if a truck was on an adjacent street as well, but didn't see any truck.
It seemed certain that something was going on. But if the thieves had plans, I didn't have any idea when the crime would occur. If I did, I would have been ready for them to spoil their plan. The best I could do was to notify the police of all of the information that I knew at the time. The police assured me that they would put out an occasional patrol. They suggested that I change the code on the garage door and make sure that I kept the doors locked at all times, because it would still be difficult for even the police to happen to catch the thieves at just the right time.
If the crime were to take place... at what time? At what time would it occur? That was the question. How do I remain vigilant and ready? How do I prepare for the time that it may occur? It was driving me crazy! It consumed me with worry and fear. It consumed my every waking moment. I couldn't go on living like this.
Life is like this. You don't know what time anything may or may not occur. We like to make plans, but plans are just plans. Plans are made to change and will change. Sometime, someday, something will happen that will change everything in your life. It could be a death, it could be the lottery, it could be an illness, it could be anything. And you really don't know what time that will take place.
And even more, sometime or another for the disciples of Jesus, we know that Jesus will come again. And when he comes, it won't be like the worry of the thieves breaking in, it will be a joy for all believers. We will know at that time that Jesus did come again. Jesus will come again at an unexpected time. Jesus will come to us individually at some time and Jesus will come again to all the world to take us into a full and rich relationship with our God that will never end. Joy and love will abound (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a). All of the worry stops (Philippians 4:6-7). And yes, the tears, the mourning, the crying and the pain will pass away (Revelation 21:3-5). And the fruit of the Spirit will be everywhere (Galatians 5:22-23a). This old body will change into something new (1 Corinthians 15:53).
Knowing this uncertainty made the uncertainty of the thieves seem like the peanuts of life. I will prepare for the thieves, but more than that I will stay awake for the returning of Jesus. Come, Lord Jesus, come!
Prayer
Lord, I'm awake and looking, I'm awake and waiting. I'm awake in great anticipation. Joyful anticipation for your coming. Come, Lord Jesus, come... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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