Matthew 24:40-44

“But understand this: if the owner 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.” vs. 43

In order to press home his point about being prepared for the second coming of Jesus, Matthew uses an example of a homeowner with knowledge of when his house would be broken into. He implies that such a person would surely stay awake in order to prevent the burglary. In other words, precise knowledge of the future will most certainly change our behavior in the present. Now the problem is that the readers don’t know the hour when the Lord is coming–and Matthew would say “Exactly!” That’s why they should live in a state of constant expectancy! The question then is, how in the world could a person actually live that way? For some people in Matthew’s time it meant that they quit their jobs–for others it meant not getting married and staying single. And that became a problem! We can’t just stop everything and sit around waiting. Perhaps a better idea might be just to keep on living as we have always lived, trusting in the unconditional love of God and enjoying the amazing gift of life to the fullest. Even if we have a pretty good idea of when our life might draw to a close, that would be no excuse to stop living with joy in our hearts and looking for ways to serve and love. 

Thought for the Day:What would you like to do on your last day?