Watch and Be Sober
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 1 Thessalonians 5:6
There are in the world today many who close their eyes to the evidence that Christ has given to warn men of His coming. They seek to quiet all apprehension, while at the same time the signs of the end are rapidly fulfilling, and the world is hastening to the time when the Son of man shall be revealed in the clouds of heaven. Paul teaches that it is sinful to be indifferent to the signs which are to precede the second coming of Christ. Those guilty of this neglect he calls children of the night and of darkness. He encourages the vigilant and watchful with these words: "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. We are all the children of light, and the children of the day: ye are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober."
Especially important to the church in our time are the teachings of the apostle upon this point. To those living so near the great consummation, the words of Paul should come with telling force: "Let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should love together with Him." (The Acts of the Apostles, 260)
Reflection: The watchful Christian is a working Christian, seeking zealously to do all in his power for the advancement of the gospel. (The Acts of the Apostles, 260)
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 1 Thessalonians 5:6
There are in the world today many who close their eyes to the evidence that Christ has given to warn men of His coming. They seek to quiet all apprehension, while at the same time the signs of the end are rapidly fulfilling, and the world is hastening to the time when the Son of man shall be revealed in the clouds of heaven. Paul teaches that it is sinful to be indifferent to the signs which are to precede the second coming of Christ. Those guilty of this neglect he calls children of the night and of darkness. He encourages the vigilant and watchful with these words: "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. We are all the children of light, and the children of the day: ye are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober."
Especially important to the church in our time are the teachings of the apostle upon this point. To those living so near the great consummation, the words of Paul should come with telling force: "Let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should love together with Him." (The Acts of the Apostles, 260)
Reflection: The watchful Christian is a working Christian, seeking zealously to do all in his power for the advancement of the gospel. (The Acts of the Apostles, 260)
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