We Do Not Know When The End Will Come and That Is a Good Thing! – Week of December 2, 2019

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 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. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Matthew 24:42-44

Can you imagine how awful it would be to know the exact date of the last day? Humans would scramble to get in as much pleasure as they could in their final moments. All the money would be taken out of the banks. Who would go to the doctor? Why have schools? Most people would be trying to travel to see friends and family or famous sites around the world. But what pilot would give up his final hours taking an airplane full of people to Paris? I suppose churches would be filled and that would be a good thing but still, I am thankful the Father has kept this date to himself. This particular ignorance is a gift from God.

I wonder if the Father will have the same urgency as we would as the final day approaches? When the clock gets close to midnight will he speed up the spread of his gospel message? The truth is he has. Maybe we do not always see the results but he is urgent, as urgent as he always was from the beginning.

This is the message of Matthew 24. He wants you to have the same urgency as he does but spare you the burden of knowing exactly when the end will arrive. So he describes Christ’s return as a thief in the night. Always be prepared. Be urgent in your work. And yet, be still. Do not be anxious. Go about your work in peace. If tomorrow is the end. Good. Heaven awaits. If we have another hundred or thousand or ten-thousand years, that is okay too. He is in charge. So be ready but not anxious.

You teach with this calmness and peace (at least on good days). You are urgent for your little ones. This is important! But there is a calm about you. A peace that springs from Christ who has the beginning, the end, and everything in between under control. So keep watch but be still.

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, your timetable is not our timetable. Grant us peace to go about our days with the urgency of the last days but also with the calmness that springs from the peace of Christ. Amen.

Early Childhood Ministry Educator’s (ECME) Devotions are brought to you by WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
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