Watch

“For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” Mark 13:34-37

Jesus likened Himself to a man who was preparing to go on a long journey. The man knew he would be gone for a long period of time, so he assigned responsibilities to each of his subordinates and charged them to always be ready for his return. Jesus wanted the disciples to think about what it would be like to be left in charge of someone else’s household for an undetermined amount of time. He knew that He was going back to heaven after His death, burial, and resurrection, and they needed to take responsibility for sharing the Gospel with the world. Jesus told His disciples that they needed to watch and to always be ready for His return, and then He included everyone. “And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch.” Jesus’ words to His disciples can be applied to every Christian alive today. It has been many years since Jesus gave this command to all of His followers; but, as time goes by, it becomes even more important for us to be ready for His return. We need to be working, we need to be managing our areas of responsibility, and we need to be awake. Are you ready? He may come today!