A violent criminal had just run into the woods armed with a rifle. He’d just shot a man in his attempt to avoid capture. The boss’s directive to us was simple: “Go in there and find him.” Unfortunately, we had no idea where the suspect was hiding, but he probably knew exactly where we were. I didn’t like those odds.

Teams of officers scoured the surrounding area. Our group headed down a narrow trail into a thickly wooded area. For all I knew, we were walking straight into an ambush. I was second in the stack, completely unaware of the drama unfolding behind me. All my attention was focused ahead.

The issue was our rear guard. He is the last guy in line who protects us from attacks from behind. Unfortunately, the rear guard was preoccupied. Unbeknownst to me, he was sobbing uncontrollably over a recent break-up with his girlfriend. He was inconsolable, and operationally useless. His situational awareness was at zero. Whoever broke his heart was about to get us all killed.

Thankfully, the suspect was long gone. We lived to search another day and several more areas. The suspect was eventually caught, and we found more effective ways to conduct woodland searches. The importance of situational awareness, however, has never waned.

Last fall, social media was abuzz with talk of Christ’s return. YouTube prophets predicted the Lord would arrive sometime between September 23 and 24. They based the claim on a myriad of prophetic occurrences that would culminate with the Jewish Feasts of Trumpets. Needless to say, the predictions were wrong.

As compelling as the arguments were, Jesus’ own words replayed in my mind. He specifically said, “No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen.” (Matthew 24:36) And, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:44) Those two statements alone negate any real hope of predicting a date.

Situational awareness, however, is still in play. Jesus said you won’t know when He’s arriving, but there will be signs that precede it. In light of that, he advises being ready at all times. Knowing it could happen at any moment should have a strong influence on how I live. Jesus says, “It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.” (Matthew 24:46)

“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.” Matthew 25:42