Craig Clouston

 Unobservant

August 24

The disciples came to him … ”Tell us,” they said … what will be the sign of your coming?”

Matthew 24:3

Craig pulled in the driveway, thankful to be home from vacation. He was tired. The kids were asleep in the back; Marie was out cold too. He decided to unload the car before waking anyone. No sense in them being awake at 3:00 a.m.

He’d walked past the living room three times, taking each piece of luggage to the appropriate room. This time, however, on his way out the front door, he glanced into the living room and realized something wasn’t right. Strange, he thought, something’s different, but what? Oh well. He’d figure it out eventually.

Finished unloading the car, he carried each child to their bedroom, got them into pajamas, and kissed each on the forehead as he covered them up.

Returning to the car, he woke Marie and assisted her into the house. Half bleary eyed, Marie walked through the front door, took one look into the living room, and jolted wide-awake, a shock replacing her sleep-filled eyes, “We’ve been robbed!” she blurted out.

“What?” Craig said in surprise. Then it registered: the TV, DVD player, MP3 player, and Bose stereo were all gone! How could I have missed that? he thought, followed by Marie’s question, “Didn’t you notice there was no TV when you turned the light on in here?” she asked incredulously.

“I noticed something was different; I just didn’t know what,” he said sheepishly.

†

In truth, we, like Craig, are prone to miss things once in awhile. Especially in spiritual matters. Granted, to miss being robbed is a biggie, but consider this: even the disciples missed what Jesus was trying to say. So much so that He warned them to “keep watch” (verse 42), knowing they would probably let their guard down without His encouragement.

End-time signs are all around us: “Wars and rumors of wars; Nation rising against nation; famines and earthquakes … the beginning of birth pains.”

But whether Christ comes in the next ten minutes or ten thousand years, we are to watch and interpret the signs, preparing for His coming by sharing the gospel.

Prayer

“Lord, help me be sensitive to everything important that’s going on. Show me where to focus my efforts for Your kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”