Stay Awake!

This is the weekend many look forward to every year, even more than Christmas.  We all get one extra hour of sleep!  You can’t go out and buy time, so I think “Fall Back” is one of my best friends every year.  I hear parents of young children and college students cheering as they realize the extra hour they are about to receive.  That is cheering until I read the words of Jesus.

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”  Matthew 24:42

Come on!  Stay awake?  Please, no Lord!  I have small children; one wakes up every couple hours and the other loves to wake up before the sun comes out.  This is the only thing I am asking for – one extra hour of sleep!

Do I think Jesus is coming back during daylight savings time this year?  Probably not…could he?  Yes!  Is Jesus asking us to stay awake and refrain from that glorious extra hour of sleep?  Thankfully, no, I think He is just fine with me getting some rest this weekend.  What is He saying: His followers should stay alert and remain aware that He is coming back to earth.  Jesus is coming, and it could be soon.  It could be years, decades or centuries away too.  We just don’t know (Mark 13:32), but that doesn’t change our attitude or posture towards the second coming of Jesus.

A verse I have been dwelling on recently is found in Hebrews 9:28, and it says, “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” 

That is awesome – Jesus is coming back for those who are eagerly waiting for him.  What does that look like?  It looks like a lot of things.  It means we have a relationship with Jesus now, we follow Him now, we make disciples now, we love others now, we serve God now, we participate in church (the body of Christ) now!

Thankfully for me, it doesn’t mean I must wait up this Saturday night – I’m going to bed.