Stay awake

The week just before the school year began was always an exciting week for me when I was a child. There was something about buying new stationery and school shoes that made going back to school more appealing than it actually should have been. Everything about my routine that week and especially the night before were clear indications that I was waiting for something to happen. 

Anticipation and wait can be very weird and sometimes even challenging things to go through. What is the day you look forward to the most? The day that is so clearly marked in your mind that you do not even need to add it to your calendar? If you are a Christian, does this day have anything to do with Jesus? 

The Bible often refers to Christians as people on a journey to a place far better and more desirable than the world they live in now. This is not something Christians came up with or use as a simple coping mechanism for when the world seems darker than usual. It is something that Jesus himself promised in John 14:3- “If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.” Jesus was telling his disciples then and he tells us as well through John’s gospel that he is going to prepare a place for us and will come back for us. 

When will this be? 

I believe that what we make of Jesus’ return says a lot about our faith and relationship with Jesus and our relationship with the world. In Revelation, John is given a vision of the Glorious Day that is to come. This is how he describes it in Revelation 21:3-4: “Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.”

After reading these two verses, how can we not look forward to a time when the Creator of the universe will dwell with his people and banish pain and grief and all the evil we are accustomed to in the broken world we live in? This will be a glorious day indeed! 

But when will it happen? In Mark 13, Jesus tells his disciples about this Glorious Day. He tells them that on that day, they will see the Son of Man (Jesus) coming in the clouds with great power and glory but he does not tell them when this will happen. This is what he says in verse 32: “Now concerning that day or hour no one knows — neither the angels in heaven nor the Son — but only the Father.” If I was one of the disciples, I would have been so confused, maybe even a little annoyed at Jesus for giving what appears to be incomplete information. But it is not. Jesus always said and gave enough. 

‭‭So, what does he do instead? He warns them three times in three verses to stay awake because they do not know when this will happen. It is clear that for Jesus, what the disciples should be focused on is not the date that these events will unfold, but the state in which they will be in when these events unfold. This is true for all who have put their trust in Jesus and wait for his return - Jesus warns us in Mark’s gospel to stay awake because we do not know when he will return. He encourages us to instead be concerned with the state we will be in when he does return - will we be asleep or awake? 

How to stay awake

How do we do that? What are some practical things we can do as Christians that show that we believe in and are indeed waiting for the return of Jesus? I am sure there are many ways this can be done, but allow me to suggest three ways: 

1. Hope in spite of sorrow/pain 

Sorrow, pain, and grief are unfortunately a regular part of the human experience on this side of heaven. It is the result of sin in the world and can often cause people to either despair or long for a better life and world. Jesus has secured this better life and world for us through his death and resurrection! Christians do not hope and long for the day when all pain and sorrow will end in the same way we hope it does not rain on our planned beach trip. Instead, Christians have the gift of certain hope when we are at our lowest and darkest places and moments. We do not grieve and suffer as non-Christians do with wishful hope of betterment of dreadful despair. Instead, we can go through all the emotions that come with being in our darkest moments with the certainty that Jesus will return and will expel pain and sorrow from our experience. If we are to stay awake, we are to hold on to our hope in Jesus’ return even when our bodies and emotions are weakened. 

2. Have hands that hold loosely 

Despite the brokenness of this world, God is gracious and has allowed us to have and enjoy the good things our world has to offer such as relationships, money, material possessions, etc. However, in Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus warns his disciples to not store up treasure in this world where it can be destroyed, but to instead lay up treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed. He is telling his disciples to see material things as what they are - things that are not eternal and that cannot be taken with after they die. Jesus tells them to instead hold onto what is eternal and to treasure that. Our relationship with Jesus is eternal, our inheritance is eternal, and our status as God’s redeemed children is eternal. That is what the disciples were meant to put their energy into and that is what we are to do as well. We are free to enjoy the things and gifts God has given us, but if we are to stay awake, we are to hold onto them loosely because we know that Jesus is coming back for us and when he does, our houses and cars will not benefit us in any way because their life span will come to an end. 

3. Urgency in witness 

The day of Jesus’ return will be a joyful one for those who turned to Jesus in faith and repentance. But for all those who rejected Jesus and did not believe the gospel, it will be a dreadful day because Jesus will not only be returning for those who are his, but he will also be returning as the Judge of the living and the dead. On that day, everyone who rejected Jesus will be condemned to death without any other opportunity to repent of their sins because God, in his patience, would have given them enough time to repent. It will be too late for many. If we really believe that Jesus is coming back for us and to judge the world, we are to stay awake, but not alone. Instead, we are to proclaim Jesus to friends, family, strangers, and the ends of the earth so that others may stay awake with us and not face the punishment of their sins. We do not know when he will come, but we do know that he will come again. Let us stay awake and with God’s help, tell others of that day and the judgment that is to come if they do not repent today. 

Jesus is indeed coming back. I pray and hope that you will pray with me every day that by God’s help, we may stay awake. That on the day our Jesus returns, he may find us awake and ready to dwell with him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.