Daily Scripture
Mark 13:21 “At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here’s the Messiah!’ or, ‘See, there he is!’ — don’t believe him! 22 There will appear false Messiahs and false prophets performing signs and wonders for the purpose, if possible, of misleading the chosen. 23 But you, watch out! I have told you everything in advance! 24 In those days, after that trouble,
the sun will grow dark,
the moon will stop shining,
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in heaven will be shaken.[Mark 13:25 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10; 3:4 (2:31); 4:15(3:15); Haggai 2:6, 21]
26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with tremendous power and glory.[Mark 13:26 Daniel 7:13–14] 27 He will send out his angels and gather together his chosen people from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
28 “Now let the fig tree teach you its lesson: when its branches begin to sprout and leaves appear, you know that summer is approaching. 29 In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you are to know that the time is near, right at the door. 30 Yes! I tell you that this people will certainly not pass away before all these things happen. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away. 32 However, when that day and hour will come, no one knows — not the angels in heaven, not the Son, just the Father. 33 Stay alert! Be on your guard! For you do not know when the time will come.
34 “It’s like a man who travels away from home, puts his servants in charge, each with his own task, and tells the doorkeeper to stay alert. 35 So stay alert! for you don’t know when the owner of the house will come, 36 whether it will be evening, midnight, cockcrow or morning — you don’t want him to come suddenly and find you sleeping! 37 And what I say to you, I say to everyone: stay alert!” (Complete Jewish Bible)
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Reflection Questions
Beyond the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus gave his disciples some significant insights about his second coming and the end of the world. He said there would be nothing “secret” about his coming. “From the end of the earth to the end of heaven,” people would see it. He also told them that though signs might point toward time’s end, they would not pinpoint the exact day or hour of the end. “Only the Father knows” that—so “stay alert!”
- In verses 21-22, Jesus instructed his followers to beware of false, alarmist messages and claims about the end of the world. Sometimes, even from religious teachers with large followings, we hear outlooks about the end that differ greatly from one another. How can Jesus' teaching help you to discern the true from the false, regardless of the source from which you hear or read it?How can Jesus' teaching help you to discern the true from the false, regardless of the source from which you hear or read it?
- Three times, in verses 33-37, Jesus repeated the same injunction: “Stay alert!” It was a call to faithful, steady spiritual preparation, not some last-day crash program. Jesus' first followers didn’t know when he would return, and neither do we. Jesus simply taught them to always be prepared and never anxious. What spiritual practices have you built into your life which daily help you know Jesus better?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, the Bible ended with the prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). Teach me how to live so that can be my confident prayer every day. Amen.
Chris Abel is the Young Adults Pastor at Resurrection, and he describes himself as a "Pastor/Creative-type/Adventurer." A former atheist turned passionate follower of Christ, he completed his seminary education in Washington, DC. Before coming to Resurrection, Chris was a campus pastor near St. Louis, MO.
“It is as if someone took a trip, left the household behind, and put the servants in charge, giving each one a job to do, and told the doorkeeper to stay alert. Therefore, stay alert! You don’t know when the head of the household will come, whether in the evening or at midnight, or when the rooster crows in the early morning or at daybreak. Don’t let him show up when you weren’t expecting and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: Stay alert!” (Mark 13:34-37)
Do you ever wrestle with procrastination?
I do. Big time. For example, I usually don’t write this GPS blog until the evening before it’s due (It’s currently 1:05am as a prepare to publish this—I keep meaning to get it started sooner, but those pesky deadlines just keep sneaking up on me... again... and again.) It’s actually impressive now how good I’ve gotten at procrastination. When a big project comes around these days, I don’t merely busy myself with obvious vices like Netflix or social media. My subconscious mind performs such incredible gymnastics that it actually makes me procrastinate by pretending I have other, more important tasks to completethan the vital work sitting in front of me.
I’ll have a lesson to write, and suddenly the dishes that have been sitting in my sink for a day just NEED to be done. Or I’ll need to work on a project, and suddenly my emails from the last month HAVE to be organized. (An endless and impossible task, if you’ve never tried it).
Somehow, I don’t think I’m alone. If I had to guess, I’d say most of us have a tendency to “do the dishes” at just the moment something more pressing is looming. See, contrary to popular opinion, procrastination isn’t being lazy. You can be a very busy procrastinator. Procrastination is putting off the things that actually matter. Sometimes we do that while being lazy, and sometimes we do that by being busy.
In Johnson County, chances are it’s the latter.
But procrastination is about more than just tasks. In today’s passage, Jesus compares our lives to servants waiting for their master to return. Since I’m neither a slave, nor master, let’s try a metaphor that translates to 21st century life. I like to imagine this as a boss who has gone on vacation and expects some work to be done before he or she returns at an unknown point in time. (Gives me anxiety even writing that.)
See, as followers of Jesus, we’ve been given the task to make a difference with the lives and time we’ve been given. We’re not supposed to keep busy with the work we think needs to be done. Our boss has given us some goals. We’ve got an assignment on this planet and there’s work to be done. And yet... so many of us procrastinate the assignment of our true Boss. We are busy with careers and driving our kids around to the next extra-curricular activity, researching the next upgrade to our home or car, watching our portfolios, or perfecting our image on social media (guilty).
We’re procrastinating the things that matter.
Recently someone shared with me a piece of advice that’s stuck with me. “If it doesn’t matter in a year from now, does it matter?”
Well I’ve got a new one for you.
“If it doesn’t matter in a lifetime, does it matter?”
At the end of this life, when the Boss comes back to the office (a metaphor that is silly - but you get it), will the busywork we’ve chosen matter to God?
When I look at my own life, the answer is too often “I don’t know.” Even worse, it’s sometimes, “no.”
Am I concerned that I procrastinate in day to day life? Honestly, not too much. I’m pretty good at working in the last minute (adrenaline and all).
But I’m VERY concerned that I’ll procrastinate in Life with a capital “L.” I’ve been tasked with a job by the Creator of the Universe, and it’s to use my life for something beyond myself.
Your inbox might be messy and your dishes might still be dirty, but at the end of your life God cares more about the people you’ve managed to love.
Maybe don’t procrastinate that one.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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