October 15

Watching and Praying

Be on your guard and stay alert! For you do not know when the appointed time will come. — Mark 13:33 BSB

The words of Christ here refer to His second coming. He is coming again, but no one knows when. He will come suddenly, without warning. Since we cannot predict when He will appear, we must "take heed, watch, and pray" so that He does not find us unprepared. This doesn’t mean we should constantly talk or think about His return while waiting in idle anticipation. Instead, Christ wants us to live every day in such a way that His coming at any moment will not catch us off guard.

One important step is to make sure of our personal salvation. If we aren’t saved now, we should act immediately, for He may come at any hour, and there will be no time to seek salvation then. We should also keep our daily tasks in order, leaving nothing undone at the end of the day, because He could come before morning. We should live at peace with everyone, not letting the sun go down on our anger or bitterness, for we don’t want Him to return while we are in strife. We should be careful about how we spend our time, for He may come suddenly and find us in a place or activity we’d be ashamed of.

Keeping this truth in our hearts would give us the strongest motivation to be faithful in our duties and watchful against sin. His coming will be so sudden that there will be no time to correct wrongs, complete unfinished work, or cleanse ourselves of sin. The only safe way to live is to treat each day as if it could be the last, making sure that every task is finished and that our lives are always ready for His return.