Today’s scripture: Matthew 24:36-51 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Brent Walsh):
“Does anyone have a sword?” queried a smiling man, walking into my office. The question baffled me, but even more so coming from the UPS man!
“A what?” I asked politely.
“A sword!” When he realized my look of confusion wasn’t going to clear up on its own, he continued, “You know. . . a Sword of the Lord!” he beamed, proud of himself. With a look that said, ”Of course,” I handed him a Bible, then studied my desk with my best too-busy-to-chat look.
He was friendly enough, but I immediately closed up. He reminded me of a neighbor I had. She found out I was Christian, which seemed to be enough to make us best friends. It was enough for her, at least. I found the friendship laborious because we couldn’t talk about anything without pondering the spiritual implications of it.
For instance, when I mentioned I wanted to adopt an old dog from the vet, she launched a dissertation on the poor and needy and closed with “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me.” I expected her to start singing an invitation hymn!
When my car broke down and had to be towed off the interstate, she wanted to lay hands on it and pray for quick repair. Then she asked if I had found time to witness to the tow truck driver. When I confided that a acquaintance from church passed away, she asked, “When is the celebration?” Then there was the time she asked me to join her for a Wednesday night Bible study. “Right now we’re studying Revelations,” she gushed. “I love to dig in deep and try to figure out how many of the signs of the return of Christ are evident in our society today!”
In my neighbor’s defense, she was a wonderful person who had only the best intentions. She was obviously a devout woman of faith who simply could not contain her love for the Lord. But I found myself avoiding her after a while. I found her constant state of “worship” off-putting, worried that she might corner me in the hallway as I carried in my groceries and shout, “Quick! Tell me what Habakkuk 3:18 says!”
In today’s passage, Jesus is telling his disciples they must “keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” This might seem to imply that we all should be like my neighbor, who could think of little else. But this kind of spiritual overload can also be off-putting to people you’re trying to be friends with. They might start to avoid you and make excuses for why they can’t hang out with you. It might be better to chill out and come back down to earth. If your attitude and speech is too lofty and pious, people might stop listening to you altogether!
Thought for the day: Be careful not to be so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.