1 Thes 3:7-13 / Mt 24:42-51
"He fell asleep at the wheel!" How often we’ve heard that said about people who lost contact with the realities of life or forgot how they needed to respond to them. It happens all the time, and it regularly damages or destroys businesses, political candidates, marriages, and just about anything else you can think of.
And it can happen to us. The routine business of life, making a living, raising a family, keeping an office running, can keep us so fully occupied that we lose sight of the bigger picture. We usually remember the daily "whats" of our lives, but we can easily forget the "whys," the reasons behind our big life choices. And when we forget those larger purposes, a time of wandering will surely follow. Life will pass us by and God’s big dreams for us will not come true.
Jesus is sending us a wake-up call in today’s gospel. The life and breath that God gives us so generously every day is a treasure that must not be frittered away. So, lest WE fall asleep at the wheel, we need to ask ourselves two key questions early and often.
First, what is God asking of me at THIS TIME in my life? How should I be SPENDING his gift? (The answer to this changes with the passage of time, so think twice before you give your answer.)
Second, how well am I doing at building my part of God’s kingdom? Are my deeds measuring up to God’s hopes for me?
Spend some quiet time with the Holy Spirit today; open your heart for some honest answers. And don’t be afraid. The Spirit can build even on bad news.