February 19. Matthew 24

Don't let your guard down

It seems to me that a lack of vigilance is human nature. We have a saying (probably borrowed from boxing): "don't let your guard down." A series of left-hand jabs gets our attention, then WHAM! comes a right-hand hook out of nowhere and we are flat on our back. Or we face one run, two, three runs in a row right up the middle of our defense, then PASS! and our opponent's receiver is doing a goofy dance in the end zone.

Yes, vigilance is not our strong suit as a species. Even as our technology grows we use it to protect ourselves from our own inability to stay focused. Does your new car have the nifty "lane assist" or collision avoidance feature like auto-braking? Because we find it so hard to stay alert, we design highly-sophisticated means to protect ourselves from the consequences of our inattentiveness.

I am nowhere near qualified to unpack all that is in Matt 24. In fact, I expand the little parenthetical Matthew embeds in verse 15 after "abomination of desolation" into a general prayer over the entire chapter: "Yes Lord, please let THIS reader understand." But I do get the punch line: be ready. Be ready and stay ready. Be vigilant.

Be ready

Brother or sister, is there something holding you back? I'm not going to get into the question of whether or not it's a matter of salvation, but it's stealing your joy now and might keep you from looking joyfully into the face of your savior when he comes. Bring it into the light now (1 Jn 1:7) and be ready to jump unabashedly into the outstretched arms of Jesus! Walking in the light doesn't mean that we're sinless (go back and read 1 Jn 1:7 and the verses that follow), it just means that we're letting it be exposed and addressed as we go.

Stay ready

This means two things to me: I need to be aware of my vulnerabilities, and I need to not get apathetic in guarding them. 2 Cor 2:11 says that "we are not unaware of [Satan's] schemes." Everything we do/are as disciples involves relationships, so it's no wonder that Satan focuses there: he tries to get us to doubt God to erode our faith (trust) in God and his Word, and he tries to sow disunity between us to weaken our love and devotion to one another. That's about it. If we (you, me, us, together) stay vigilant in these areas and help each other to do so, we stay ready.

What if "the day" is "to-day"? If we're ready, how exciting a thought. If we're not ready - get there! Today! Now! And if "the day" is not today? Stay ready!

If we're ready, and we stay ready, we can with one voice echo the parting thoughts of our brother and apostle John in the culmination of the old and new testaments:

He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev 22:20)