#DailyDevotion How Are You Keeping Watch Today?

Mark 13:32-37

³²“No one knows about that day or hour, not the angels in heaven, not the Son, only the Father. ³³Be careful and watch, because you don’t know when it will happen. ³⁴It’s like a man who went on a trip. As he left home, he put his slaves in charge, assigned work to every one, and ordered the doorkeeper to watch. ³⁵Watch, then, because you don’t know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, at the time when the rooster crows, or early in the morning. ³⁶Make sure he doesn’t come suddenly and find you asleep. ³⁷What I tell you, I tell everyone: ‘Watch!”

Now repeat after Jesus, “No one knows about that day or hour.” It’s amazing the number of Christians who don’t believe Jesus when he says this but follow some snake oil preacher who says he’s figured out the secret. It often deals with Jewish occultic number magic or similarly trying to figure out the count in Daniel. Well God has held this secret close to his vest and isn’t letting anyone know. Their calculations almost always end up in October but I’ve recently seen on go for late September. I haven’t looked at them in a long time but I don’t need to. I only need to remember Jesus’ word, “No one knows about that day or hour.”

We may wonder why the Son doesn’t know. Well he certainly didn’t know when he spoke this. Some think it is part of his emptying himself out and his humility. Some think since his exaltation to the right hand of God in glory he does know now. There are some complicated theological problems people can find with this, but we need not concern ourselves with now, we just need to remember, “No one knows about that day or hour.”

Since this is true how should we be living out our faith in Christ? We should be living our lives, fulfilling our various vocations to the best of our ability, living as if we believe God has been and is being merciful, kind, forgiving, and with steadfast love toward us. This will lead us to be the same way towards the people around us. We are to be about making use of the means of grace, the Word, Preaching, Baptism, Absolution, the Lord’s Supper and the Mutual Conversation and Consolation of Fellow Christians.

We don’t know when Christ is going to return, the day or the hour, whether at evening, morning, midnight, when the rooster crows or early in the morning. Of course, when Christ returns it will be different times all across the world. He’s not going to reveal himself hour upon hour across the globe. As he said, we will all see him at once coming with the clouds with all his angels. Don’t think he is a long way in coming so you can slack off and be sinful thinking you’ll repent later. You may not have later. Shoot, you may not have till later today and the Lord will call your number and you’ll be dead. It will be too late to repent there also. So keep on living by faith and the day won’t find you unawares.

Heavenly Father, grant us such faith that we practice living out that faith in our lives so we won’t be caught unawares on the day of Christ’s return. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.