To
read: Mark 13:35-37
Therefore, keep awake - for you do not know when the master of the house
will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else
he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to
all: Keep awake.Text from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
To think about:
White-tailed deer never cease to amaze me. For about ten years, I have been
hunting this beautiful big game animal, both bucks and does, from a tree stand.
The truly amazing part about deer is their uncanny ability to materialize in an
area that you'd swear was lifeless only moments ago, and for some reason it
always seems to happen when I've put my gun or bow down in favor of a candy bar
or Thermos.
The season of Advent is about waiting and expecting, but not for the elusive white-tailed deer. Instead, we anticipate the coming of our Lord and Savior in the form of Baby Jesus, and on a date we expect, Christmas day. Although shopping, decorating, and nativity scenes have become staples in the preparations for celebrating the first coming of Christ, Mark relates to us that there is much more.
Jesus promised his return but warned that we would need to be alert, because he would come suddenly. Consequently, Advent is also a time for preparing our hearts, minds, souls, and lives for the unknown time when Jesus will come again. Like deer, Jesus will come unexpectedly. The question is whether we will have given up the waiting, watching and preparing in favor of picking up the Thermos…or if we will have kept our eyes peeled and our hearts and minds clean and ready.
The season of Advent is about waiting and expecting, but not for the elusive white-tailed deer. Instead, we anticipate the coming of our Lord and Savior in the form of Baby Jesus, and on a date we expect, Christmas day. Although shopping, decorating, and nativity scenes have become staples in the preparations for celebrating the first coming of Christ, Mark relates to us that there is much more.
Jesus promised his return but warned that we would need to be alert, because he would come suddenly. Consequently, Advent is also a time for preparing our hearts, minds, souls, and lives for the unknown time when Jesus will come again. Like deer, Jesus will come unexpectedly. The question is whether we will have given up the waiting, watching and preparing in favor of picking up the Thermos…or if we will have kept our eyes peeled and our hearts and minds clean and ready.
