Mark 13:33“Watch out, stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is.”
In this verse Jesus is telling the disciples that He would come again, and they needed to stay alert because they did not know when that time would be. He said that only the Father (God) knows when that time will be.
In the Spring of 1974, I, along with several others, was taking a six-week class on the Book of Revelation. We had just finished studying the Gospel of John. One morning Robin asked a question of our professor Dr. Bill Kuykendall. Dr. Kuykendall was a feisty professor. You did not arrive late for his class. If you answer a question on a test with B.S. even if the answer was partially right, he would mark it wrong. In doing that he told us to be sure of our answers and our knowledge. He was my favorite professor at Erskine. The question that Robin asked of Dr. Kuykendall was, “Are we living in the end times?”
I remember that moment clearly because each of us in that class was waiting for his answer. Dr. Kuykendall leaned against the small wooden desk. After a few moments that seemed like hours, he answered, “I do not know the day that our Lord is returning, but I know that He will. I don’t even try to know that day. Until Jesus comes, I will live my life as if He is coming that day.”
I never forgot that moment and that wisdom that he gave to us. I try and often fail to live my life as if Jesus is coming that day.
When Jesus said this quote, He had left the temple and went to the Mount of Olives to speak to his Disciples about when He came again. They were unable to understand what he was telling them, but He was giving them a warning as He is giving one to us.
In 1974 I had a car that I named Grace. She was the only car that I put a bumper sticker on, and it said Maranatha. It is an Aramaic word which basically means, “Lord come”. I do not know if the Lord will come in my lifetime, but I do know that He will come because He said that He would.
Today’s Question:
What does living each day like Jesus is coming that day mean to you?
Ever in Christ’s Love,
Mary Elizabeth Todd
January 30, 2024, April 25, 2024
Ruhamah United Methodist Church Bible Verses 