[225 words]
“What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (Mark 13:37).
When it’s raining, there’s no way to fix the leaky roof, and when the sun is shining, there’s no need. We are our own worst enemies, and God knows this. He tells Ezekiel that as a watchman, He is holding the prophet responsible for warning the people about enemies, both physical and spiritual, and if they don’t take precautions, then their blood is on their own heads. Even God’s people won’t heed the dangers that threaten their salvation. To the elders he addresses on his way to Jerusalem, Paul warns them to first keep watch over themselves and then over their flock to guard against the wolves that would arise from within and without. Again, God’s people won’t heed the dangers that threaten their salvation. It is no surprise, then, that on the eve of the Good Shepherd being struck and the sheep being scattered that Jesus would warn his disciples to ‘watch!’ He doesn’t do this to get them to escape or avoid the coming spiritual storm that was about to burst but to prepare to weather it.
Do we prepare … even when the sun is shining? Or, do we sit under a dripping roof in the storm and curse the rain? Do you watch?
Doug Kashorek
Plattsburgh church of Christ
Plattsburgh, NY