“Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.” -Mark 13:33
It is that time again as we celebrate our New Year in the Gregorian Calendar. We discard the old calendar, flipping from December 2024 toward the fresh 2025. It is difficult for me to grasp that we are 24 years into the 21st Century! With this out with the old and in with the new season, it is wise for the Christian to turn to ancient words that never wither or fade in beauty (Isaiah40:8).
I need regular reminders from our Lord to stay alert, keep my guard up, and stay awake. Here, we see Jesus’ prophecy of the upcoming Roman invasion into Jerusalem to destroy the city’s many fine buildings and, of course, the temple. Jesus’ prophecy came true, yet the haunting words of judgment were but shadows of the final judgment at our Lord’s return.
As the drumbeat of time plays the same tune as centuries past, it is easy for us to be soothed to sleep by the lullaby of daily routines and earthly concerns. It is easy in the flesh to simply coast through life, go day to day, shuffle through work, take the kids to events, pay monthly bills, keep up with favorite shows, movies, sports teams all while Christ and His church take a distant secondary concern.
Some may say their New Year’s resolution is to return to church. Unfortunately, such a commitment with strong words does not last. As a YMCA member, I can tell you January is filled, but February returns to an introvert’s dream. Like the apostles at Gethsemane, sleep overtakes those with commitments made only verbally instead of staying alert in prayer.
What does this have to do with staying alert for the return of Jesus? 2025 is one year closer to the climax of human history: the return of Christ. Does your life reflect a posture of worship of the returning Lord with awareness, alertness, on guard? For the time is drawing near, as our Lord says, “the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6). In the meantime, wars. Famines. Broken relationships. False Christs. Tribulation. Betrayal from loved ones. Lawlessness increases. And the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). This Jesus warned us of in contrast to those who endure to the end.
A loveless heart is the condition of “many”. This includes those once passionately professing Christianity. Those once good friends. Even those claiming Christianity with hidden evils compromising their theology. Those gaining trust of others only to slide others into their own compromise. Piece by piece, like a New Year’s resolution, slowly compromise turns to daily concerns and the very thought of Jesus, worship, and church life become numb if not completely dead. Or, church is something to infest with a love grown cold.
John even warns us in I John 3 not to be like Cain the murderer. Of course, taken with the Sermon on the Mount, this is speaking of a cold heart that does not love the church, but harbors hatred in the heart (Matthew 5:22). “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers” (I John3:14).
So, we must take this command to love one another as one of combat with internal sin and commitment to true love, steadfast love, we have received from God. So we must be strong in our watchfulness with one another. To “act like men” is connected to doing all things in love (I Corinthians 16:13-14). Watch one another and keep one another awake with a warm love for Jesus, His Word, and His church. To guard ourselves from lawlessness, which is saying we become our own gods making our own laws in a land where “everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).
Jesus is Lord, and He is good. Reader, I implore you to make this resolution: to draw near to the Lord and love Him increasingly. Draw near to Him humbly. Taste and see the Lord is good. Become active in the life of the local church to be watched over and to keep your love for Jesus and His church warm. All while we await that glorious day of His return.
Let us not be like the unwise bridesmaids sleeping without oil (Matthew 25:1-13). If we sleep, let us regularly be awakened by the Lord like the apostles at Gethsemane. To regularly gather with the church, to hear the Word of God faithfully taught and preached, as another day then another year draws us closer to Jesus’ return that “you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew25:13). Let us, then, faithfully remain watchful together.
Heavenly Father, we confess we become drowsy. We slumber. The world which gives us trouble regularly has a numbing effect, deadening our resolutions no matter how strongly we felt or worded them at the beginning. Our endurance is only possible by Your mighty hand. Lord, strengthen our hearts to love warmly with brotherly love, letting love be genuine, with hearts eager for our Lord’s return. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
