Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. (Mark 13:33)
I am very time conscious. Schedules are made to be kept. Things need to start and end on time. It is important to know what time it is so you can keep on schedule. Timing is important to God too. We can believe that everything about his plan for life on this planet will start and end exactly as he orders.
As important as time is to me, I think speculating about the day or hour of our Lord’s return is a waste of time. The fact that he is returning is a foundation of orthodox Christianity. But where there is mystery, intrigue takes over and speculation begins. Some people spend a lot of time guessing when it will happen. No one except the Father knows the timing of his return, and yet the Scripture tells us to be aware of the time.
We are to live with an eye on God’s clock. Not that the Lord’s return becomes such a preoccupation that it causes us to lose touch with our present realities, but that we live with the knowledge and anticipation that the days are marching toward the culmination of earthly time and the establishment of eternity, when clocks won’t matter. We must be on guard against distractions, alert to dangers and opportunities. We must watch for the movements of God’s Spirit and live in anticipation of the Lord’s return.
Live as if this were the last day before the Lord’s return.
Dr. Ken Heer was an ordained minister with The Wesleyan Church, prior to his death in 2016. He served as a pastor, educator, and church leader for more than forty years, helping people grow in Christ.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
