Scripture
32 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
33 And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!
Observation
Jesus is teaching about His second coming. It is the one promise of God that has yet to be fulfilled. Of course his Apostles wanted to know when it would be. However, Jesus could not give them an answer, saying only God the Father knows the time. It's not for the Apostles (or us) to know the time. In fact we need not know the time because it is our responsibility to always be prepared. If we are prepared, we don't need to know when it will happen.
Application
This pinged me today because it reminded me of other studies I've done about how, in our day to day lives, we always talk about wanting to be "connected" with others but we rarely do so. And no, social media does not count! We never really connect with others until we need something from them. Need furniture moved? Need to borrow a car? Need some money? When we need something then we connect with others. On the other hand, spend time with someone and talk about their day? Send someone a real message on their birthday (not a facebook post)? Take someone out to dinner? Invite someone over for game night or to play with the kids? Send a message saying, I'm just thinking about you? These kinds of things are much, much harder. In my experience, people rarely do them.
But this is exactly what Jesus is saying we must do! We need to be connected to God. We need daily prayer. We need to build a relationship with Him. This will allow us to always "be on guard" and to "stay alert". That way, if Jesus' return happens in our lifetime, we'll be prepared. Our first interaction with God won't be, I need something from you (eternal life). No! Instead we would have spent our lives building a real connection so when the important stuff happens, we don't have to worry because we can ask with certainty.
Prayer
32 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
33 And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!
Observation
Jesus is teaching about His second coming. It is the one promise of God that has yet to be fulfilled. Of course his Apostles wanted to know when it would be. However, Jesus could not give them an answer, saying only God the Father knows the time. It's not for the Apostles (or us) to know the time. In fact we need not know the time because it is our responsibility to always be prepared. If we are prepared, we don't need to know when it will happen.
Application
This pinged me today because it reminded me of other studies I've done about how, in our day to day lives, we always talk about wanting to be "connected" with others but we rarely do so. And no, social media does not count! We never really connect with others until we need something from them. Need furniture moved? Need to borrow a car? Need some money? When we need something then we connect with others. On the other hand, spend time with someone and talk about their day? Send someone a real message on their birthday (not a facebook post)? Take someone out to dinner? Invite someone over for game night or to play with the kids? Send a message saying, I'm just thinking about you? These kinds of things are much, much harder. In my experience, people rarely do them.
But this is exactly what Jesus is saying we must do! We need to be connected to God. We need daily prayer. We need to build a relationship with Him. This will allow us to always "be on guard" and to "stay alert". That way, if Jesus' return happens in our lifetime, we'll be prepared. Our first interaction with God won't be, I need something from you (eternal life). No! Instead we would have spent our lives building a real connection so when the important stuff happens, we don't have to worry because we can ask with certainty.
Prayer