From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. -Mathew 24: 32-35 (ESV)Matthew chapters 24 and 25 are not unfamiliar chapters to most of us. Jesus foretells the destruction of the temples and the arrival of the final judgment days. We read familiar parables of the ten virgins and the talents. We even learn lessons from the fig trees. Quite frankly, behind the book of Revelations, these two chapters of the bible used to cast a dark cloud over my faith, when I was not as spiritually strong. Jesus describes the destruction and the devastation of the final days of judgment with such dark details that it made me second-guess the purpose of acting on my faith in the first place. As time went on and I matured mentally and spiritually, rereading this passage opened my eyes to aspects of the second coming I would’ve never picked up on earlier.
I found beauty behind the destruction Jesus described. Despite the desolation that is foretold, there is a shimmer of something glorious that we all can grasp a hold of: hope. Though Jesus is warning us what there is to come, he is also laying out for us the simplest advice he can give to us, so that we can avoid being part of the destruction. His advice? Stay Awake. Other versions of the bible will say “be aware” or “be ready”, but the English Standard Version uses the phrase “stay awake”, which I absolutely love.
Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master 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 hour you do not expect.” -Mathew 24:42-44 (ESV)When Jesus advices us to stay awake he is asking us to be aware and to become active physically, mentally, spiritually, and most importantly prayerfully. He goes into the parable of the ten virgins. Five of whom were wise and were proactive in preparing for dark times; the other five were not as prepared. As they were waiting, darkness came and they fell asleep, they awoke when they heard the bridegroom coming from afar. While the five wise virgins were prepared with oil for their lamps, the other five virgins were left scrambling to purchase oil and missed the mark to meet with the bridegroom. When they arrived at the marriage feast they found the door to be shut. As they pleaded for the bridegroom to open the door, his reply was, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ (Mat. 25:12) Following was the parable of the talents, two servants made use of the talents they were given and made more; the third servant buried his and ended up having what he was given get taken away. The master was furious because the third servant did not make good use of what he was given; instead he buried it and made excuses as to why he did not put his talents to use. The common theme behind these two parables is that we do not know when our master is coming. When he does arrive, we must be ready for him and be prepared to answer to him for our actions.
Stay Awake! Be cautious of false prophets and false teachings. How? The Word of God has been provided to you to learn. Knowledge from our Lord will allow you to cast away the temptations of submitting to false teachings. Do not be discouraged when you are being persecuted because of your faith. Jesus tells us that persecution is inevitable.
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. -Matthew 24:9-13Stay Awake! Realize that calling yourself a Christian does not automatically get you the golden ticket into heaven. You must be proactive. I cannot put it in any better words than the Word itself.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” -Mathew 25:34-46Throughout his ministry, Jesus constantly stated that those who looked after those who were lowly than them will be greatly rewarded. Do it with humility and love and God will surely recognize you for it. Be aware of those who need assistance, whether it is monetary, food, shelter, clothes, or even prayer.
Stay Awake! Be aware of the fact that with every second that goes by, that the end of times gets closer with each second. Though it may not be in our lifetime, we still will have to answer to the Lord our God when the time comes. Likewise, it can happen at any second, even while you are reading this. Do not fall into the temptation to assume that because God is not here yet, you can act the way you’d like and repent later when you feel the time is right. Remember that God is always aware of our lives.
But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” -Matthew 24:48-51There will be no prep time, nor a rehearsal, nor a redo button for anything. You will have to answer to the Lord as you are. So make sure that you are living a life that you would not be ashamed to have to answer to in front of our Father.
As this Lent season progresses, let ourselves progress as well! We, as Christians, tend to slumber all too often and let our guards down. Though the destruction described in the bible is scary and dark, we do not have to be part of that darkness. If we stay awake we will realize when the darkness is rolling upon us and we will be aware of where our light is. If we slumber and wake up in the darkness, there is no telling if we would be able to find our light in time.
Application:
Some questions to ask yourselves:
Where do you slumber in your personal walk with God?
Where can you be more awake?
What can you use to help keep your world lit?
**On a personal note, ‘Be Still’ by The Fray, was playing in my mind as I read this passage and meditated on it. It gives me comfort to know that even when darkness rolls upon us, He is there with us.**
- Sherlin Mathai
No comments :
Post a Comment