Preparing for the cold

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK

Jesus, help me keep warm in winter and close to you always! Amen.


PREPARING FOR THE COLD

“At the end of the world, the sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will fall from the sky,” said Jesus. “Then I’ll come back and gather all the good people in the world. When a tree grows leaves, you know summer is coming. When you see the signs I talked about, know that God is coming.”

Leaves are thick on the ground and thin on the trees right now. Every day, it gets colder; your mom gets annoyed if you leave the house without a jacket, even though that would have been fine a few weeks ago.

What does all this mean? Winter is coming! You don’t have to look at a calendar or be told by an adult that winter will be here soon; any kid can tell, just by looking at the signs around you.

This week’s Gospel (Mark 13:24-32) is about signs — the ones that, someday, will tell us the end of the world is coming. Jesus taught that when the sun and moon get dark and the stars fall, we should start looking for Him, because those signs mean He’s coming back.

Luckily, the world is not likely to end soon! Jesus just wanted people to remember that He is going to come back someday. Like you have to prepare for colder weather now by remembering to grab your jacket whenever you go out, Jesus wanted everyone to be prepared for Him.

That means working as hard as you can at being good, following what Jesus taught and treating other people well. Even though the world probably won’t end for a long time, that’s not really important.

The important thing is to remember, like winter, Jesus is coming. It’s always a good idea to put on your jacket and say your prayers!