In part 1 of this devotional series, we talked about what it means to “take heed.” For part 2, we’re gonna look into what Jesus meant when He said to “watch.” Just to refresh your memory, Christ said in Mark 13:32-33:
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
What did Jesus mean when He said “watch?”
Be A Follower, Not A Leader
One of my favorite writers, Ellen White, had some insightful commentary on what it means to “watch” in her book, The Desire of Ages:
“Those who watch for the Lord’s coming are not waiting in idle expectancy. The expectation of Christ’s coming is to make men fear the Lord, and fear His judgments upon transgression. It is to awaken them to the great sin of rejecting His offers of mercy. Those who are watching for the Lord are purifying their souls by obedience to the truth. With vigilant watching they combine earnest working.”
–{The Desire of Ages, Page 634, emphasis added
How does this statement relate to us as Seventh-Day Adventist Christian teens and our 21st century lives?
Well, according to this statement, one of the practical ways to watch for Christ’s second coming is to obey “the truth.”
But what is “the truth?” Why should we even obey it? And–even more importantly–HOW can we obey this “truth” thing?
The Truth
In John 14:6, we learn that “the truth” isn’t a thing–it’s a Person!
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. –(John 14:6)
So, in order to practically watch for Jesus’ second coming, we’re to obey Jesus–Who is the Truth! But why should we obey Jesus? Isn’t it kinda legalistic to obey whatever Jesus tells us to do and follow?
Being A Follower of The Truth
One big Biblical reason on why we should obey Jesus and follow His law and will is found in John 14:15:
If you love Me, keep My commandments. –(John 14:15)
Love is the one big reason why we obey Christ and His will and law. Paul himself write something similar in 1 Corinthians 16:14:
Let all that you do be done with love. –(1 Corinthians 16:14)
That word “all” includes obeying Jesus!
And dear reader, I wanna appeal to you today. I wanna ask you truly have enough love that’s pure enough and powerful enough to motivate you to willingly obey Christ and His words. I mean, to be honest, friend, no human being has a heart naturally filled with a pure and powerful love to cheerfully obey and follow Divine Truth. I mean, Paul wrote that the carnal “mind” or heart “is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (Romans 8:7)
Friend, both you, me, and everyone born in this world has this carnal mind. This carnal heart that doesn’t want to obey Jesus–the Truth.
However, the one big practical thing we can do to obey Jesus and to faithfully watch is to just pray that He will help us. We can just pray that God will give us the love we need to genuinely obey the Truth! We can simply pray:
I’d like to conclude this post with a verse you may meditate on along with the above prayer. It’s a verse I mention quite often in my posts, but it is a verse that is essential to meditate and fully digest on in order to TRULY obey and follow Christ, and to faithfully watch for His soon return:
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
(John 15:5, emphasis added)
Amen! Maranatha!
Stay tuned for part 3 of this devotional series, where we’ll talk about the necessity of prayer as a practical preparation for Jesus’ second coming! [UPDATE: You can now view part 3 HERE]