FAITHFUL IN THE ORDINARY
Opening Prayer
God, show me Your priorities today.
Read Matthew 24:36–44
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Day and Hour Unknown
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Footnotes:
a Matthew 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What really matters in the grand scheme of things?Jesus now proceeds to use stories and parables to show the importance of readiness, even in the living of routine, ordinary life. In this parable we find individuals busy with the everyday: “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (38), working in the fields or grinding grain (40,41).
Jesus compares God’s sweeping unexpected judgment seen in the story of Noah and the flood with the final coming of the Son of Man (37). The people in these stories are living out ordinary lives. However, for some, the everyday is all there is. But for Jesus’ followers, our lives are to be lived in the light of something larger than ourselves, a larger narrative (43). The kingdom of God has come, and while we live in the time of the “now and not yet,” both our future hope and our status as citizens of the kingdom of God provide ultimate meaning and give significance to the present.
Apply
Do you often find yourself caught up in the little details of life and forget about the most important things? Write a note to yourself and post it where you can see it often: “Jesus is coming soon.”
Closing prayer
Pray that your future hope will define your outlook on life at all times; ask God to help you to be faithful and “watchful” everyday.
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