Watch

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 

1Corinthians:16;13 (NKJV)

Faith in Jesus Christ is simple—in theory. That is, it is not hard to understand the important things. On the king’s highway, even a fool will not become lost. It is equally true that practice is a great deal more difficult than theory. The two work hand in hand, as James said, the best way to communicate our faith in Christ is by our works. Christians often focus on what to do without offering insight into how to actually do what they say. There are a couple of reasons for that.

What does Paul mean in the above text when he says, “Watch”? There are a multitude of things for which we could watch. Here, I’ll focus on three rather broad areas: Christ, ourselves, and the Holy Spirit.

Watch for Christ’s return with a sense on immediacy. Early Christian’s may have had an advantage with this. Jesus told them He would be crucified and rise again. They saw Him crucified and then—bam—in three days, He was back. Forty days later they watched Him ascend into heaven and were told He would be back again.

I think they took Him more seriously than we do today. As a result, they operated with a sense of urgency. They didn’t wait until tomorrow to change their life. They didn’t put off the message of salvation or feel they could leave it for preachers to do. The message of the angel was not just, “He has risen” there was another critical phrase attached, “as He said.”

“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” That admonition is as true, real, and sure as, “You must be born again.” If you are expectantly watching, you will watch your life.

Watch your life with a critical eye looking for ways to grow. It’s good to know that we are not perfect. It’s better to be actively working on growing. Watch for the appearance of spiritual fruit. Tending a garden requires a watchful eye, knowing when to water, pulling weeds, and keeping the pests at bay are never ending tasks. We need to keep the same kind of watchful eye on our lives.

To successfully watch our lives is to be ever watchful for opportunity. More often than not, open doors are the Holy Spirit at work. If you ask God to guide you, and you see a soul in need, a class to be taught, or a job to be done, guess what. Guard against excuses for they will surely come calling. The true calling of every child of God is to do whatsoever He asks. He tells us to ask, seek, and knock because that’s how He operates. Watch that you are as responsive to Him as He is to you.

Maranatha.