“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. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
Romans 13:11-14
Why does Paul exhort believers to wake from sleep? Because each day that passes puts us one step closer to seeing Jesus face to face. And knowing this should encourage us to live everyday as if it could be our last day to make a difference for Christ in this dark world. But if we are not careful, we can become spiritually lethargic by the corruption of this world. If we do not stay awake to the things of God, the darkness of this world will dampen our spiritual senses. Worse yet, we will become partakers of the darkness of this world that is filled with things like sensuality, drunkenness, and sexual immorality.
How do we keep ourselves from being corrupted by the darkness of this world? My wife sometimes wears patches on her eyes so she can sleep better, especially when she wants to sleep in. The patches keep the light out that prevents her from staying asleep. The patches keep her in the dark, they keep her from seeing the stimulating light.
If we want to stay awake spiritually, we must cast off the patches and works of darkness. In addition, we must put on the armor of light. What protects believers from the corrupting influences of the world is the light of Christ shinning on our lives. In fact, the light of the glory of Christ will not only keep us from becoming sleepy Christians with dulled spiritual senses, but will enable us to be an influence for Christ in the midst of darkness (2 Cor. 3:18; 2 Cor. 4:3-6).
As I write this, I'm on vacation in Mexico. I just left our room to have breakfast without my wife who wanted to sleep in. When I get back to the room I'm going to wake sleepy head up, as I did yesterday morning, by opening up the curtains of the glass doors that lead to the balcony. I'm going to flood the room with sunlight. When I did so yesterday morning, she responded, "Really Mark." It worked.
Similarly, if we are going to stay awake to the things of God, we must avoid the corrupting influences of this world. And most of all, we must flood our hearts and minds with the light of the glory of Christ revealed in His word. Let us put on the armor of light.
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