Wake Up!!!
By Adam Litmer
He is supposed to eat every three hours. However, sometimes that third hour rolls around and Alexander has absolutely no intention of waking up to eat. At that point I get to play the bad guy and poke, prod, tickle, rub, and otherwise annoy him until he wakes up enough to eat a little. Now the little guy does not enjoy this process a bit. He kicks, screams, lashes out with his little fists, and lets the world know at the top of his lungs just how mistreated and abused he is.
Sometimes the two most unpleasant words to hear are “wake up.” Mom always yelled up or down the stairs to me to “wake up” so that I could get ready for school. When I left my parents' home for my own, the alarm clock took the place of my mother and informed me each morning that it was time to “wake up” and get ready for work. Now Alexander likes to remind Jackie and me several times during the night that his internal clock is a little different than ours, and he does so by screaming at us to “wake up” and take care of whatever is irritating him.
I suppose it should not be a surprise to any of us that God screams at man to “wake up” spiritually. The non-Christian has never been awake spiritually, and God would have him know that it is time that he open his eyes. In Ephesians 5:14 the apostle Paul quotes Isaiah and says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” The bottom line is that the non-Christian can be the world’s most recognized humanitarian, extraordinarily generous with both his time and wealth, and a kind and loving husband and father, but it will not avail him anything. You see, at the end of the day this man is no more then a loving, generous, humanitarian sinner. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” Until this individual avails himself of the redemptive and cleansing blood of Christ, he will never be more in God’s eyes than a lost soul, just as much in need of salvation as any other sinner.
By far the majority of non-Christians do not wonder why it is that the world is still in existence. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” The time that the non-Christian uses as proof that all is fine (for things go on as they always have), is the very time that God is granting them to repent. The Bible message is simple and terrifying for the non-Christian—time is running out (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10). What is God’s message to the non-Christian? “Wake Up!”
But let us not think for a moment that it is impossible for the Christian to fall asleep. In Romans 13:11 we read, “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” There just seems to be a tendency among us Christians to occasionally fall into a general malaise. Oh, we do not generally fall away from the truth or begin to apostasize, but we do tend to get very comfortable with our spiritual conditions. This is particularly true when we see a swell in our numbers, which we have seen very recently here at Evendale. Whenever I feel this malaise, this satisfaction, beginning to creep over me, I quickly remind myself of Paul’s words in Philippians 3:12-14, where he speaks of the ultimate prize of the Christian—heaven: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s idea in these words is plain -- I can rest satisfied when I am in heaven; until then I will press on as though I had not yet achieved anything. Wake up and press on!
Consider also the Christian’s battle against temptation. In 1 Peter 5:8 Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” If you have ever watched the Nature Channel or Animal Planet, you have probably seen lions on the prowl. If so, you will have noticed that they never come directly at their prey. Instead, they seek to creep through the grass, almost on their bellies, until they have gotten so close to their prey that it has no chance at all to escape. When the lion enters its prey’s line of sight, it is already too late.
Unlike the lion, the devil is a coward. He cannot bear to be resisted (James 4:7). When he is resisted, he just slinks away until he can set up another ambush. Whenever soldiers find themselves travelling through a potentially dangerous area, they remind one another to stay alert and be awake, for an ambush could very well be in the making. The fact is that for the Christian every step we take potentially leads us into one of Satan’s snares. Rest assured that if he can ambush us, then he most certainly will avail himself of the opportunity.
If you are a faithful Christian, each day that you live brings you one step closer to heaven and your final salvation. But if you want to reach that wonderful place, you’ll have to be awake to do so. So, Wake Up!