Matthew 24:4

“And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you.’ “

The disciples wanted to know when the end would come. They were curious to know the times and the seasons. More specifically, they wanted to know the sign of His second coming and of the end of the age. These were legitimate concerns and requests, but Jesus’ response showed what was uppermost on His mind. “Take heed that no one deceives you.” Jesus was basically saying to them, “Worrying about the date of my return is not the right focus.”

Jesus’ concern was that because of their desire to know the specifics, it would leave them vulnerable to deception. Jesus knew that because they were eager to plot the graph of His exact return date, it would expose them to fraudsters who would come under this cloak and make strange propositions that the disciples would buy into. We must beware of liars, impostors and spiritual deceivers who will claim to have knowledge of Jesus’ specific time of return. Jesus is calling us to seek more than the exact date of His return. Bothering about this specific timeframe is to be busy about the wrong things. If we seek God with all earnestness and we seek to obey Him with all passion, we will be safe and ready whenever the end of age shall be.

“Lord, I am not primarily concerned about the specific date of Your return. My earnest desire is to daily please You, and to passionately follow You. All else will fall into place if these remain my priorities. Please Jesus, don’t let me shift my focus from You. Amen.”