God rarely reveals when a person will be called home, which parallels the fact that no one knows the day of the Lord’s coming to end the history of this world—what many people call the day of judgment (Matt. 24:36; Acts 1:7). If humans knew the day of their death or the day of the Lord’s return, they would watch and prepare themselves with the wrong attitude. Being watchful because one is threatened by death or afraid of facing the end of the world is incorrect. It is unnatural and disproportionate. A person who watches themselves in this way does not possess genuine repentance.
Repentance is a change of mind. If someone repents merely out of fear of death or fear of the end times—not because of a change of mind—then it is not true repentance. Repentance that merely consists of stopping certain sins, widespread moral violations, is not the Christian repentance that God desires. The word repentance comes from the Greek metanoia, meaning “a change of mind.” It signifies a long process throughout one’s life journey.
Therefore, repentance that consists only in refraining from acts that violate standard norms does not stem from a fundamental change of mind. Yet God desires a radical transformation of the way we think (Rom. 12:1–2). True repentance is repentance that continues every day so that a person may have the mind and heart of Christ. Simply refraining from immoral acts does not constitute the renewal of the heart that possesses the mind and feelings of Christ.
A wrong attitude of watchfulness will not build genuine love for God. Love for God built on fear of death or of facing the end times is not real love. Love for God must be built on a foundation of knowing God. This knowledge arises through long struggles and journeys—both through learning Biblical truth and through concrete daily experiences. Love for God that arises momentarily out of fear of death or fear of the last day is counterfeit—forced love. God takes no delight in such love. He will shape a person who truly loves God through all the events they encounter. In this regard, love for God is the primary—even the only—requirement for experiencing God’s work in the process of life’s maturation.
A wrong attitude of watchfulness will not encourage growth, because watchfulness rooted merely in fear of death or fear of the end times does not lead a person toward spiritual maturity or toward reaching the target God desires. The right attitude of watchfulness consists of steps toward growing into maturity or perfection like Christ, and this is driven by the awareness that every day God provides spiritual blessings to foster our maturity. God works in all things for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28).
A person who thinks they will repent and truly follow the Lord Jesus only in their old age will certainly never experience maturation. They squander the precious opportunities God provides to form maturity and perfection in their lives. Essentially, such individuals are unwilling to be saved. May our commitment to love Him move us to truly renew our lifestyle that has been careless all this time.