MARK 13:32-37 – “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
THEME OF THE DAY. SIGNS OF A SPIRITUALLY SLEEPY HEART. In reading today’s scripture, did we notice the repetition of our Lord in His exhortation to keep awake? It appears four times. When Jesus repeats something and does so with the force of repetition in a short span of conversation, it demands attention. It calls us to pause, listen, evaluate, and apply what He is saying. And what He is emphasizing is His return. He tell us it will be sudden and requires a diligence among His people not to be caught sleeping or off guard.
When it comes to the second coming of Christ, every New Testament author emphasizes it. Many Old Testament prophecies point to it. It is a chief theme throughout the Bible. The question for us to ask ourselves is if it is a chief theme throughout our lives? I hope so for second coming thinking is one of the keys, if not the key, to keep us spiritually awake and pursuing holiness. The Apostle John writes, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:1-3). He is telling us that the more we marvel over the Father’s adopting love leading to a fixed heart on the Second Coming of His Son, the more we grow like His returning Son. Pondering the return of Christ on a daily basis is essential to living the Christian life in the world. If we want to be safe from a lukewarm, indifferent, and worldly heart having no passion for Christ, look to the clouds every day, and throughout the day for the coming of the Lord Jesus. Someday, our look will be at His face. And nothing is more powerful and effective to keep us living the Christian life as God desires and commands. But if we are to have this “stay awake” heart looking for Jesus’ return, we need to know what would be the signs of a sleeping heart, not watching for Christ’s return. Allow me to offer two . . .
First, a spiritually sleepy heart is one not privately and regularly in the Word and prayer. This type of heart may be faithful to church, active in ministry, but has no vibrant, holy, and joyful walk with the Lord. This person is simply not cultivating a spiritual life with Christ. They know nothing of sweet fellowship with Christ in Word and prayer. They lack spiritual discipline and desire to guard the most important relationship in all of life; the one with the Lord Jesus. And this heart has become such because the world has captured its affection, not Christ. Be on guard against neglecting the Word and prayer in private. Such neglect always puts a heart spiritually asleep.
A second sign of a spiritually sleepy heart is lack of commitment to be in spiritual relationships with spiritually-minded Christians. If we want to keep our hearts aflame with Christ’s love and looking daily for His return, we must be in relationships with other Christians aflame with Christ’s love and looking for His return. Spiritual enthusiasm and focus is contagious. It is always a sign of a heart spiritually asleep when Christians show minimal effort and inconsistency in church attendance and involvement in the spiritual life of their church. Like the first sign, it reveals a heart captured more by the world than the Word.
Jesus emphasizes with great passion and force the need for us to be spiritually awake; to guard against a sleepy heart. May we heed His warning and seek His help to prevent us from “dozing off” on our journey to heaven.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to guard my heart daily from the ease of growing spiritually sleepy.”
QUOTE: “It won’t be gross sin that derails our walks with the Lord. It will be the lack of spiritual watchfulness.”