““Watch out, stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. Therefore, stay alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— so that he does not come suddenly and find you asleep.” Mark 13:33, 35-36 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/mrk.13.33-36.NASB2020

What does it mean to be ‘asleep at the wheel?’ It means to not do what you are supposed to be doing. It means to miss the very thing you were assigned to make sure you didn’t miss. God warns us to be alert, to stay awake and not to be found asleep at the wheel upon His return and inspection of us as His people. What does it mean then to be alert and not asleep before God? It means to be busy about His business so that we are caught in the ‘act’ of faithfulness when He returns unexpectedly. The faithful work we are to do is to love Him and to love our neighbor the greatest act of love being the sharing with our neighbor the gospel so that they can live forever with God instead of condemned forever in torment away from God. Practically this means we should be daily in the Bible, finding ourselves learning from our God so that we can better obey our God. It means participating with other children of God in the daily worship of God so that He rejoices upon His return to find His children gathered praising, praying, and encouraging one another in love and good deeds toward the bringing of His kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. Think how wonderful it is when you find your children playing well together upon your return home from an evening out with your spouse. Being alert means helping our neighbor, our co-worker, our relative to have faith in the One True God for their eternal salvation. Sharing truth with them from God’s scriptures even while praying for them to receive and believe that Jesus is the only way, truth and life that leads to life eternal with God and without condemnation from God. To be self-absorbed in our own families, work, and play is to be asleep at the wheel of God’s assignment for us the result of which could be the missing of His welcome into His eternal dwelling place.