BY STEPHANIE MORENO

Mark 13:34-36 – “The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do and he told the gatekeeper watch for his return. You too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return-in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. I say to you what I say to everyone; Watch for him!”

The Bible gives us many affirmation statements about our identity. I am His masterpiece (Eph 2:10). I belong to God (1 John 4:6). I am a child of God (1John 5:1). I am called out of darkness into His wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9). But one of the identities Jesus calls us in this passage is a slave. I am a slave of Jesus. If you’re anything like me, this might make you fell a bit uncomfortable. In my journey with the Lord, it has been quite a process of receiving His love and stepping into my identity as His Beloved Child. So, “I am a slave” feels negative in comparison. I believe for many of us in the church, we have been good at avoiding this one. We tend to focus on the specific facets of God that make us feel most comfortable. This scripture invites us to discover who He is as our Master and Lord of our lives. We cannot ignore this one. Our lives are not our own anymore, they have been bought with a high price. When He becomes our Savior, He must also become the Lord of our lives.

He says He leaves His slaves with instructions about work to be done. If we are not submitted to Him in Lordship, then this work that needs to be done can be disregarded as optional as if it’s not applicable to us. Recommendations instead of commandments. The Bible is our guide and it’s full of commandments and instructions and yet for many in the church it has been reduced to a book of good advice but not applicable to our time. Jesus said His words will never pass away, He is the same yesterday, today and forever – His instructions are still for us today. We are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and what we do with what He’s given us matters.

Jesus warns us: don’t let the master find you asleep – watch for him. The word used for watch for him is gregoreuo and means to keep watch, stay alert, vigilant, give strict attention to. When we stop watching Jesus, stop paying strict attention to Jesus, we are at risk of falling asleep. The word used for sleep is katheudo and means to sleep normally and metaphorically 1.) to yield to sloth and sin 2.) to be indifferent to one’s salvation. Are we living in a manner that is vigilant of Jesus? Are we keeping watch or have we allowed our attention to be hijacked by our culture – sports? news? social media? entertainment industry? movies? tv? fitness? Not any of these things are bad, but they cannot steal our focus from Jesus and lull us to sleep. The result of falling asleep is costly – yielding to laziness and sin instead of yielding to the Lord and losing interest about our salvation instead of remaining on fire for the Lord. 

How do keep watch? Our intimate relationship with Jesus is paramount. When our eyes are fixed on Him, we cannot help but be transformed by the One who captivates our attention and affection. The Holy Spirit works within us to reveal Jesus. He reveals the sin in our lives and empowers us to walk in the light as He is in the light. As we witness our very own transformation through His power, we cannot stay indifferent or complacent about our salvation. We realize He is worthy of it all, it’s only by His grace that we can walk out our salvation. 

There has been a campaign to win souls by creating a version of the Lord that does not require reverence or obedience. The result has been Christians living a life unchanged and living in sin and rebellion, instead of a life transformed, free from the slavery of sin and moving from glory to glory. It’s time to walk in the holy fear of the Lord, to stand in awe of Him and to submit to His Lordship. It’s time to wake up and obey Him because we are deeply in love with Him. It’s time to keep our eyes fixed on Him, to watch for Him.