I thought it was a good message on which to focus. Jesus was cautioning His followers to be alert and on guard. In other words to be prepared for difficulty and attacks as they followed Him. We would be wise to heed His warnings. Being prepared and alert will allow us to follow Him unswervingly.
I was thinking about guard duty and how there are many internal distractions and difficulties one must overcome to be able to be alert and prepared.
- Complacency - maintaining a level of concern, especially during periods of relative peace
- Inattentiveness and Sleepiness - it is easy to lose focus and even become sleepy during long periods of waiting
- Focus on wrong things - distracted by things that don't matter, or less importance
- Loss of preparedness - being lax in exercise, lack of equipment
- Misunderstanding the seriousness of the situation - not giving the proper weight to potential difficulty or attacks
I think that all of these apply to our spiritual lives as well as our physical lives. It is so easy to lose focus, lose zeal, focus on things that aren't so important, get distracted and lose our edge. We must work to stay alert and be prepared. Jesus considered it so important that multiple times He cautioned His followers. Especially as we enter difficult times, this warning must be taken to heart. All of the issues Jesus mentioned - religion (teaching of Pharisees), difficulties, greed, and false teachers must be guarded against, for they will all cause us to lose focus and direction. Our walk must continue to be focused on loving God, loving each other as Christ loved us, and obedience!
Lord help us to stay alert, and be on guard! We want to hold unswervingly to Your path. We want to maintain focus and zeal!
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