Luke 21:34 - [Jesus said,] "But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap."
I was sixteen. And I'd had my license two weeks. And there was this nice, used car; we'd had it two weeks. It was the Fall of 1980. And there was this dance at school. You had to dress up. I'd asked this girl to go; I'd never been to her house. So I'm driving down her street to pick her up; I'm going real slow because it's dark and because I'm looking for her house number. All of a sudden, I hear this horrible metal on metal noise; I look up to see that the nice, used car we've had for two weeks had kissed the nice, used car that somebody's had for two decades. What made hitting a parked car even more humiliating was that I looked at the house number where I'd crashed, and it was hers. There were about to be two deaths. My date was going to die laughing at me; and my father was going to kill me. Praise God that she didn't and he didn't.
That doesn't change the fact that I should've been watching better.
Just like the other three times that I've backed into objects that weren't there the last time I backed out of those places: one was a dumpster in the parking lot of the church where I grew up and the other two were cars in my driveway. Hey! At least I've never hit anything that was moving.
That doesn't change the fact that I should've been watching better.
And I wasn't watching better in every case because my mind was on something other than where I was going.
Spiritually speaking, that's what Jesus is talking about in today's Bible verse. Our minds get on something other than where we're going. So we're not watching, and we run into things. It causes damage to both cars, er, I mean lives. Our eyes are supposed to be on Jesus.
Good thing his eyes are on us. Or the whole world would be a big ol' pile up.
Y'all, Jesus warns us that the world is eager to grab our attention with all the "cares of this life" (Luke 21:34). He also reminds us in many scriptures, like John 10, that he's raised from the dead to put his attention on us because he cares for our life. He's a very, very good shepherd. And he's watching out for you.
But he also wants you to watch for him. Ya know, so you can see him, see his blessings, and see the car you're about to otherwise run into.
Dear Heavenly Father,
You know what's in front of us this day. There are so many things demanding our attention. It's impossible to see 'em all and not run smack into something or somebody and cause some damage. So Lord, we just ask that you help us to trust that you're watching out for us so that we can watch out for you and see your gracious guiding hand and provision. We ask for this, and all that you know we need, in the most precious name of your only Son, Jesus Christ, our crucified, risen, and indwelling Lord and Savior. Amen.
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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