A November to Remember
Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Matthew 24:42
Jesus lets loose a series of striking images here: floods carrying people away, a person being left behind while a coworker is taken off, a thief breaking into a house. Jesus is not out to frighten us but to grab our attention. He knows how easy it is for us to sleepwalk and set ourselves on autopilot—even Christian autopilot—and take salvation for granted.
The need to earn a living and maintain a reasonable degree of security can easily come to dominate our waking hours. So can planning our next vacation, preparing for the next social event or shopping for dinner. The demands and possibilities of our daily lives need our attention, but they are not the whole story. Advent reminds us to look beyond immediate concerns toward our eternal destiny. Prepare for Christmas, of course, but prepare for much more.
Lord, you came to offer us an eternal home, and you will come again. Help us to receive you with joy.
Mark Neilsen (1948-2018)
Originally published November 27, 2016
