And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. Mark 13:5
This chapter in the book of Mark begins with Jesus and his disciples coming out of the Temple in Jerusalem. The disciples are marveling at the magnificence of the buildings and Jesus begins to tell them of the Temple’s destruction. The disciples ask the question that most naturally comes to mind but, as Jesus teaches us, is not the most important question to be asking. They want to know when!
As the chapter unfolds, Jesus sits down on the Mount of Olives across from the Temple and begins to teach the people. Not insignificantly, He uses the phrase take heed three times in this one chapter. Jesus is exhorting us to be aware, to be careful, to be on guard against certain things. The disciples were merely asking when the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed, but in answer to their question, Jesus warns them to be on their guard so that no one would deceive them.
So, if Jesus tells you something is going to happen in the future yet He does not tell you when it is going to happen and in fact declares that the timing of the event is in the Father’s hands, what then is the question we should be asking? It is the same question you should always be asking of the Lord — “What would You have me do?” Thrice Jesus warns the disciples to take heed; twice to be on their guard against being deceived by those who will claim to know what Jesus has declared we cannot know or to claim things that are not so. The third take heed has to do with the answer to their original question of when.
Jesus said you are to watch and pray for you do not and will not know when the end will come. If you spend your time following those who claim to have answers that Jesus has not given you, it is easy to get caught up in the when and miss out on the answer the Lord through His Word has already given you.
Living for the Lord is not about knowing when Jesus will return, nor is it about having the answer to all of life’s questions; it is about knowing how to live today so that we will be ready for whatever tomorrow brings. It is about putting your life into the hands of the One who holds your future. It is about giving a good account of this day when that day comes.
You have a work to do for the Lord today, right now. The Master has gone to prepare a place for you so that one day you will be with Him forever, but at the moment He has you here. He has a plan and a purpose for your life and a time for the fulfillment of all things. It is not for you to be distracted with unanswered questions or with the voices claiming to have answers beyond the Bible.
God has not called you to be idle and just wait for all things to be fulfilled. He has called you to be about your Father’s business until the Master returns. You don’t need to know when that will be for if you did, the Lord would have revealed it. Instead, Jesus says to be on your guard and not to be deceived. Rest in the Lord and in the assurance that His plan for your life is all good. Watch and pray — and take heed!
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