Rise
“But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise…” - Ephesians 5:13-15 NIV
Mornings are hard. Especially on cold, chilly mornings when the bed is warm and inviting and we may have stayed up a little later than we should have. Sleep beckons. So we fight the alarm clock and the urging of the day for just a little bit longer… for just another 5 minutes.
The battle seems to be even harder for kids (at least for mine)… 5 more minutes can easily turn into 10 to 15 or longer, if not for the urging and prodding of their parental units. And no matter how many times we may sing “Rise and Shine” and/or call out from another part of the house, the bed has a hard hold on them.
In today’s passage, we are reminded of another kind of sleep. The kind of sleep that is a numbness to the things of the world. A numbness to to things of darkness. We are reminded earlier in Ephesians 5 (5:8) that we “were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.” We are reminded that the Fruit of the Spirit is in all “goodness, righteousness and truth.”
Then we are told and reminded to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
We live in a world today that has blended light and darkness into some sort of shade of gray. Causing us, yes even the follower Christ, to become numb to it. Things that should turn our stomach are suddenly funny and harmless. Things that would never be said, are suddenly common place. And things that should be said and done are suddenly hateful (or hate-filled) and politically incorrect.
Like in this Ephesians passage, we are called out even today to
“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Wake up. Rise and Shine. Thaw your numbing heart and shine. Be in the light as He is in the light. Shine like a city on a hill.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem.
