The last several Sundays of the Church year are focused on the End Times and second coming of Jesus.
As this is the second-to-last Sunday of the Church year, we are in that time.
Out lesson for today has a similar theme as last Sunday’s “be ready.” Today we hear that we should “not sleep” but “keep awake and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6).
So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:6
Of course that doesn’t mean that we can’t sleep (as we hear in verse 10), but rather that live in holiness and righteousness as we await Jesus’ return. We are to live as He calls us, not as our flesh and the world tempt us. We are to live as He His followers, not as followers of the Enemy.
Our lives should look and be drastically different than those of non-believers.
Are they?
There is a saying (and I don’t know where it originated), “if being a Christian was illegal, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
Put another way, does our living and the way we interact with others give evidence to our faith in Jesus? Do our lives confirm to the Light and right living of the Bible and not the dark and deviant living of the fallen world? Do we live in a way that stands up to the scrutiny of daylight or are we more conformable with the obfuscation that the dark of night affords?
That’s a sobering thought!
We are believers of Jesus! We are His. We are children of the Light! We are called to walk accordingly.
When we engage in dark behaviors, we don’t just fail ourselves and our calling; we give testimony unworthy of the Light of the world, Jesus.
That should never be! But that is what often is.
When that happens, we need to wake up and humbly confess those dark sins to the Light and let Him pull us out through His forgiveness. We need to stand tall in that forgiveness and be a beacon to His mercy and grace for others still caught in darkness. We need to live in the Holy Spirit, staying sober in our actions and live is the righteousness that is ours now and will be fully realized in the everlasting living at the New Creation!
Brothers and sisters, we are daywalkers because we walk in the Light, Jesus! Let us do so boldly and confidently as we eagerly and steadfastly await His return!
“Grace Father, thank You for sending us Your Son; the Light, the Day, the Resurrection, the Life! Thank You for bringing us out of darkness and dark living. Thank You for forgiving us and giving us the Holy Spirit so that we live as the daywalkers You have called us to be. Grant us forgiveness when we revert to darkness, rousing us from sinful living and keep us ever awake, waiting for Jesus’ return be shining Him to all those around us. In His holy and precious name do we pray. Amen!”
Scripture
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
