Stay Awake

In Luke 12, Jesus tells a parable of servants who were ready for their master when he came. He then tells us, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40). In Mark’s record of this same teaching of Christ, Jesus says, “concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 13:32-33). Jesus issues this command to stay awake to His disciples and, subsequently, to us. But what does Jesus mean by telling us to stay awake?

See, Jesus is referring to a metaphorical alertness regarding His second coming. Jesus is coming again, we just don’t know when. The Bible tells us that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). A few verses from this, Paul issues the same call to spiritual preparedness when he says, “you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober” (1 Thess. 5:4-6).

From the scriptures, we learn two main truths about the Second Coming of Christ. We know that Jesus is coming back, and we know that nobody except God the Father knows when that day will be. Therefore, we are called to be ready! If God revealed to us the day of His return, then, being the fallen people we are, we would most likely live recklessly and then try to clean up our act or repent at the last second. But God knows us, and He knows that His way is better, and He has chosen not to reveal the date of His return but rather to call us to live every day like it is the day He is coming back—because it very well could be.

So how do we stay awake?

When I think about staying awake, I think about how easy it can be to fall asleep. I, personally, enjoy taking naps. Sometimes I’ll just sit down to read, and I feel the waves of tiredness slowly overtaking me until I give in and wake up a couple of hours later. It can be difficult to stay awake spiritually, but it can be done if we keep our eyes focused on Christ.

I love how the Life Application Study Bible itemized this principle of staying alert and awake, ready for His return. “People who are ready for their Lord’s return are (1) not hypocritical, but sincere (12:1), (2) not fearful, but ready to witness (12:4-9), (3) not anxious, but trusting (12:25, 26), (4) not greedy, but generous (12:34), (5) not lazy, but diligent (12:37).”

We must ask ourselves, are we staying awake? Are we ready for Jesus to return? Are we sincere, ready to witness, trusting, generous, and diligent? We don’t know when He is coming back. It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be a thousand years from now. But He is coming back! Jesus has never broken a promise before, and it’s safe to say that He won’t break one now. I hope you are ready for Him. If not, place your hope and trust in Jesus today. He will never let you down.