WATCHFUL WAITING
First of three devotions in Come, Jesus Series
1 John 3:1: “How great is the love of the Father has
lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that
it did not know Him.”
Watchful waiting is a good
thing. Have you noticed that when you
are eager for an upcoming event, you don’t pay attention to everyday irritations? As Believers in Christ, we should be eager
for His return. That could happen any
day. Watching for Him reminds us to get
ready.
The cool fall day found the elementary
school’s playground buzzing with activity during recess. The earliest grades were playing tag, jumping
hopscotch or swinging. The older kids
were playing four square, dodgeball, soccer, or football. Scraps of kids’ speech could be heard:
“Push me faster!”
“That’s cheating!”
“Play with me?”
“No kicking allowed!”
“I win! Want to play again?”
God knows everything. If He were to peek into your day at random to
see what you’re doing, what would He hear you say? What if Jesus popped in, what would He catch
you doing?
Jesus warns us with a story: “It would be good for those servants whose master finds them watching
when he comes…ready [for him], even if he comes at the second or third watch of
the night.” (Luke 12:37a, 38).
Jesus
uses “servants” to represent Believers who serve God, our master. The second watch of the night is 9:00 P.M. to
midnight. The third watch is midnight to
3:00 A.M. (This is when I hope Jesus
comes, and I pray to Him when I wake up in the middle of the night).
Jesus will come at a time when we least
expect Him.
Daily distractions challenge our best
intentions to remain vigilant [VIG-i-lant].
Vigilant means watchful, alert, observant, aware, attentive, and even cautious—adjectives
appropriate when waiting for Jesus’ return.
How can we watch for Jesus every minute
of every day? Life gets in the way. No problem.
Just remember to begin each day confessing your love for Jesus.
Take Home Nugget
Jesus showed people who weren’t watching
for His return: “But
suppose the servant says to himself, ‘my master is taking a long time in
coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and
drink and get drunk. The master of that
servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not
aware of. He will cut him in pieces and
assign him a place with unbelievers.” (Luke
12:45-46).
Yikes! Check out the lesson, linked below, for
details.
My heart is waiting, even if my eyes aren’t watching.
Adapted from “Watching
and Working” devotion from “Harvest Ministries” by Rev. Greg Laurie. www.Harvest.org.
September 13, 2015.
J.D. Griffith
Written
for http://www.Biblestudyforkids.com
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