Matthew 24:36-44 (NIV) 36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
There are times when God seems beautifully present to us but there are also times when God seems totally absent. We are responsible to and accountable to God even when God seems absent - especially when God seems absent. The only calling worth our whole life is to be responsible to and accountable to God. Every other goal will simply run out on us or fall short. The promise of Jesus’ unannounced coming is not meant to petrify us, but to electrify us with a sense of meaning and purpose in the ups and downs of life, as well as in those many days we spend in the plain routine of our everyday lives.
Unless our life is lived for the glory of God it becomes very difficult to sustain a sense of satisfaction and a commitment to the good of others. Even the hunger for money, as strong as that is, begins to go flat. Unless we are somehow doing God’s work and serving His will we conclude life is “just not worth it.” Something of God’s purpose for our life has to be seen calling us beyond the tasks of daily life.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Worship is one way we keep watch. Another way is our reaction to the daily experiences of life, which we can let lull us to sleep or beckon us to awaken. When we are batting our head against a wall of frustration it can also be a call to look up and see the higher vision. When we are bombarded by a barrage of responsibilities or are irritated at another person it can awaken us to our truthful inadequacy and turn us in trust to God.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope march 10, 1991
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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