Reading: The dog pile! Have you seen it or been a part of one – jumping on each other in front of the pitchers mound when the third out is made and the championship has been won? The “dogpile moment” is the preseason goal of every baseball team. It’s a smart thing to do, at the beginning of the season, to tape a picture of that moment on your locker room door because that picture is a great reminder to keep the end in mind as you go. When practice is tough and you want to take the day off, you can remember what you are working towards. Ball players are asked to sacrifice a lot during a baseball season. You better believe that every player that has gotten to that dog-pile moment will say it was worth the sacrifice.

In a much more serious manner, Peter reminds us of what is coming. Peter said, “the end of all things is near, therefore we must be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.” We have to keep our eyes on the prize, and the way to do that is to stay alert and pray. 

Peter said this around two thousand years ago. Kingdoms have come and gone, generations have passed by, and yet, the end still hasn’t come. Is he wrong? The truth is the time that has passed is a blink of the eye in light of eternity. Remember, in verse 5 it says that Jesus will judge. Any day he could act, and he will! The end is near, so don’t be unprepared!

So, how are we told to live with the end in mind? First, we need to be alert. Be in your right mind. See things through the lens of eternity. The world and all its goods are perishable things. They do not last so do not value them as if they did. Scripture says, “The grass withers and the flowers fade but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25). Live in light of the knowledge that the last day is near. Secondly, we are to be sober minded. Don’t be intoxicated by a world that makes promises of satisfaction but can’t and won’t deliver on them. The world can’t satisfy your soul, so think soberly about the things of this world. 

One way we live with the end in mind is by praying. Once we are alert and of sober mind then we can pray as we ought. Pray that we will stand firm in the days of temptation and persecution. Your prayers are the means by which God will keep you safe until the end. And like the good teacher he is, Jesus taught us how we should pray in Matthew 6:9-13 - “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.”

Reflection:  Do you ever think about the end of the world? Take a minute to dwell on the fact that everything we see will one day pass away. What temporary things in the world have you been intoxicated with, keeping you from a sober mind? 

Prayer Prompt: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.