Good things come to those who wait. But I hate waiting. As a child I hated waiting for Christmas. I hate waiting for an appointment at the doctor’s office. I hate waiting for an important phone call or meeting.
A key belief of many Christians is that Jesus is coming back. We don’t know when, but we believe He will. So we are in life’s waiting room, waiting for Jesus to return.
So, what are Christians to do while we wait?
As Jesus ended a talk about His return, He told the following parable…
It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch! (Mark 13:34-37)
The meaning is very clear. The landowner is gone and has given his servants something to do while they wait for his return. We have similar responsibilities as we wait for Jesus to return .
1 – We must work.
The Call to Work. The Landowner in Jesus’ story calls every servant and gives them specific responsibilities. Each had a job. Maybe they were different jobs, but they were all working for the same man.
That is the way it is with us until Jesus comes back. We are all different. We have different talents and callings but we should all be working together to please our Master!
You weren’t called by a mortal man. You weren’t called by a church. You were called by Jesus! And you are accountable to Him. He has given you a task to accomplish. Are you sitting idle. The Master has warned you that He may return at any moment. And you can rest assured that there will be consequences.
The Consistent Work. The Landowner expected his servants to be consistent in their work. They couldn’t wait and let the work fall behind and then rush to complete everything before the master returned because they never knew when he was coming.
We serve the Lord the same way. We don’t know when He will return. If you knew that Jesus was going to return next Friday at noon, what would you do differently? Would you reach out to that loved one and finally tell them about Jesus? Would you spend more time in His Word preparing for His arrival. Would you stop doing certain things that you did this past wee? Would you spend more time in prayer? Would you forgive that person that you have been holding a grudge against? Would you tell people that Jesus is coming and that they better be ready?
Martin Luther said we should ‘Live as if Christ died yesterday, rose this morning and is coming back tomorrow.’
2 – We must Watch.
The Landowner warned his servants to ‘watch.’ We are not to work for a while and watch for a while. We are to watch while we work. The Lord has trusted us with manage His ‘stuff.’ We are to watch how we use ‘His stuff.’ Notice 3 things that God we have:
Watch your Time. You only have a certain number of days left on earth. Will you use them or abuse them? Do you spend time on things that will endure for eternity? For many our spiritual time management problems is evident. We have time to volunteer for overtime at work, or go to the park, or drive to a ballgame, or sit in a recliner to watch TV. But we don’t have time to read our Bible, attend Bible study or Sunday School, or serve in one of the church’s ministries. Jesus is coming back. He said to work and watch. Give your time to the Lord.
Watch your Talents. The Lord each of us a special ability to use for Him. You may be a good singer, teacher, prayer warrior, encourager, or a trade. What are you doing with yours? In reality it really isn’t yours. It belongs to the Lord. He has just loaned it to you until He returns. Will you use it to honor Him?
Watch your Treasures. All we have belongs to the Lord. He has blessed us with a job. He blesses us with means of transportation and enough good health to get up and go to work. Some want to debate how much of our money belongs to the Lord. Some say 10%. The fact is that all of it belongs to Him. Even if you give 30% you are still required to be faithful with what you have left. Are you faithful to God with your finances?
The Master could return at any moment. Make sure you are ready for His arrival. Will you work until Jesus comes?
While touring Europe, a tourist visited a lovely estate in Italy. He admired the beautiful garden and met the gardener. He said, ‘You’ve done a beautiful job. How long have you worked here?’ ‘Twenty-five years’ came the answer. ‘How often has the owner been to this estate?’ ‘Four times’ ‘When was he here last?’ ‘Twelve years ago.’ ‘You keep the garden so lovely, one would assume you were expecting the owner tomorrow.’ ‘Today, sir. Today!’
One day, whether as a result of the Rapture or the grave, you will stand before Jesus. At that Judgment Seat of Christ He will be Master and you will be Servant. You will give account of your life. Would you like to hear from the lips of Jesus… ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’? Then you must ‘work until Jesus comes.’
You can read some of my similar articles: Ready or Not, Here He Comes, The Signs of the Times, What Will Happen Next?.