Matthew 24:37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Eating and drinking and marriage are normal things and normal occurrences. But our day is going to be interrupted. Jesus will enter the scene and break up our day and the future. But understand something about these words. It is almost a picture of a people distracted with day-to-day life. They are caught unaware. Life’s struggles, demands, schedules and pace keep them from what God wants them to focus on and they are caught unaware when Jesus returns.
The use of days of Noah in this analogy is one where Noah represents Christians who are ready. In the days of Noah, there were two parties represented in this: the people unaware and Noah. Noah now represents the person who knows the season and represents one who follows God with all his heart. It is a picture of every Christian who lives their life with a sense of urgency. There is no room in faith for casual Christianity.
We will never casually prepare well for a catastrophe. That is not how we prepare. It is intentional effort driven by real concern. Jesus declares that every generation is intended to be living with the urgency the end brings, yet we do not. We get lost in the day when we should not. We open our phones and computers, and we confuse information with wisdom when the two are dramatically different from each other. We prioritize one life over another. We act like this life is all there is and death is the end when the Bible declares that this life is temporary and eternity is forever and we often choose to place our focus on the wrong life.
Noah is distinguished from the rest of the world in that he lives a different life following a different set of rules. It also shows that while Noah was one person, most of the world will not be ready when Jesus returns. Only Noah and his family enter the ark.
The warning of Jesus is to live with the sense of urgency that the Christian life brings. Every Christian in every generation should prepare for the day when Jesus catches the whole world off guard. It is in this mindset that the Christian is prepared for the day when Jesus changes everything.
