“The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!” Mark 13:34-37 (New Living Translation)
This was the Bible verse that our sermon was based on in church this weekend. But as I am sitting here with my house guests literally on my feet (if you haven’t read yesterday’s blog, now might be a good time), I’m inspired to take this Bible passage a step further.
When my friend dropped off her two dogs on Friday night, I asked when she would be back for them. Well, she didn’t know for sure, maybe Sunday night, but if she got home too late, she might not come for them until Monday morning. Honestly, I am totally ok with that. Her two rat terriers really are no trouble at all. She can pick them up whenever. I won’t stay up waiting for her, but I will be prepared - and so will the dogs - whenever she gets here.
Shelley texted me yesterday morning, “How are the kids? Did they keep you warm in bed?”
She had warned me that one of them likes to snuggle under the blankets with her. Again, I was ok with that. If my 60 pound Dino can sleep on my feet, I think I can handle a five-pounder under my covers.
But then my husband got a call from work, they wanted him to come in at 2:30 in the morning. He went to bed around eight, and so as not to wake him up, I stayed in the living room, on the couch with all three dogs until he got up a little after one AM. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep, but that wasn’t really the dogs’ fault.
So, to Shelley’s text, I replied, “Long story, but everyone is doing fine.”
Shelley wrote back, “In short, what happened.”
And I typed, “Nothing, everything is fine.”
Isn’t that just like us? Jesus tells us He doesn’t know when He’s going to return and when He asks in the meantime how we are doing, we text Him four words! Jesus is coming back some day to claim His kingdom and just because no one knows when that is going to be, is no reason to blow Him off now. We should be talking to Him every day, telling Him all the little details of our mundane lives, because He cares about us so much that He wants to hear all about us. Sure, He already knows but don’t you think He wants to find out directly from us, have that relationship, that interaction with us?
And if Jesus comes for me in the middle of the night – awesome! Shelley, however, can wait until daytime to pick up the dogs.
(They look ready, all right. Ready to keep me awake all night. Can you believe my husband and me both fit in the bed besides?)
Ok, now, honest to goodness, this is my last distraction.
