I’m one of those people who can wake up at the slightest noise. In my twenty somethings I could sleep through anything. Now, if my dog sneezes I’m wide awake. I’ve become use to the noises of the big city however and sirens are one of them. It’s common to hear police cars or fire engines throughout the day and into the night. What was once something I was acutely aware of when we first moved here, I’m no longer bothered by. As my two-year old grand-daughter say’s, “it is what it is.”
This morning I read a passage in Romans that got my attention. As I consider what has been going on in our world over the past year, I wonder if the Lord might have a word for us that might change the trajectory of all that lies ahead in our future.
In Romans 13:11-12 we read, “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
Here Paul is saying, “All that I have been saying about presenting your bodies to God as a living sacrifice and not being conformed to this world and being transformed by the renewing of your minds (chap 12), and all that I’ve been saying about living in love (chapters 12-13), do all of this in light of the time in which we live. The day of the Lord is near.”
In a nutshell we are reminded that God’s people are to be looking forward to that great day, we should be distinct in our behavior from those who live with a temporal viewpoint only.
Paul uses metaphors to make his point: Unbelievers are sleeping and walking in the darkness of night. Believers are supposed to be awake and walking in the light of day, because we are looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ladies, I know this has been a difficult year! But I fear that we are being lulled into the deception that if life could just return to normal we can pick up where we left off. God’s people are in limbo if you will, letting the world dictate to us how we can manage these unpleasant times. We are allowing the media, scientists and political influencers to guide our behavior and navigate our days.
It’s time to “wake up beloved!” The time is just before dawn, the sky is brightening, the alarm is ringing, day is at hand. It is time to rouse our minds from slumber, to be alert to what God is doing in the world, and to live in accordance with God’s coming salvation.