“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.” Matt. 24:42-46
Devotional Thought For The Day
Perhaps it is more of a concern for older people, the dreadful things that take place upon this earth, all that is wrong in the world, and how things appear to be getting much worse. We see some of this when we are younger, and we generally adopt some variation of three basic strategies for life: 1] drop out; 2] get used to it, resign yourself to it, and get on with life; 3] do what you can to make this world a better place. Dropping out is a dismal capitulation to evil, defeatism. Resigning ourselves to the evils of this world, and joining in, is even worse, for this contributes to the wretchedness of this world. Seeking to reform the world, to be a positive force for good is depressing – for the older we get the more acutely aware we become of just how entrenched evil is in the hearts of men and the affairs of this world. So it always seems that things are getting drastically worse – but a good bit of this is almost certainly that we are finally able to see things more clearly. Those without a sense of the difference between good and evil don’t have this experience, and blithely consider us neurotic ninnies, or worse.
Thankfully, we are not charged with oversight of the macro-issues of human history. What we are charged with is responsibility for our own demeanor and behavior in our lives in the latter days of this world. We do not know when our Master and Lord shall appear again, as He promised, when the Last Day will be, the great day of judgment and the commencement of the new age of His glorious kingdom. So we are called to be “ready,” and He has provided us with all that we need to be prepared and alert. Obviously, we are to be repentant, for if we are able to recognize the sin in others, we should be even more painfully cognizant of our own sin and weakness. More importantly, we should be living each moment in the joy of Christ’s salvation, God’s promises and assurances of His mercy, His full forgiveness and cleansing away of all our sin – living in faith in His love by which we are justified and renewed through the knowledge of God’s love. For this Christ has given us His Word and Sacraments, and the ministry of His Word and Sacraments, that His church might be built. “Blessed is that servant whom his Master will find so doing when He comes” – providing God’s people with their proper food at the proper time. We are privileged and blessed both to “eat” of this food by faith, and to distribute it to others by sharing God’s good Word with them. This is the best that we can do until Christ returns.
So we must take care not to just drop out, not to just give in to the evils of our time, but to continue in our place in Christ’s kingdom, doing our part in bringing good into the world. We must take care not to allow the dismal nature of things to depress us – as if there is no Master, no hope for this world, and no One still in charge. Christ assures us that He is still in control, and that He is managing the macro-issues of human history, and that blessing is still coming for those who are continuing to do His work here when He comes. Ironically, Christians continue to grow more optimistic for the future even as the dismal evidence mounts in regard to the pervasiveness and power of evil in this world. For younger people this requires greater perseverance and obstinance in faith and commitment to good – and not allowing the prevailing evil to erode our trust in God and our confidence in His faithfulness and goodness. For those of us who are older, this requires continuing our trust in God – and placing more focus on Him and His goodness than on the evils of this world. If we believe in God, truly believe in Him, understanding Who He is, His great power and love and goodness, then we cannot help but be optimists – regardless of how dark things appear. So always, especially in the worst of times, we continue our joyful prayer: “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, thanks and praise be to You for Your many promises and assurances of Your power, Your control, and Your management of the affairs of the cosmos, including all of the affairs of mankind. Thank You for bringing us to the knowledge of Your love, and the renewing power of Your goodness. Thank You also for the privilege that You grant us of being Your servants who eagerly await Your return. Grant us constancy and faithfulness, especially in our duties, that we be alert and prepared always for Your coming. Amen.