Sunday, August 05, 2007

Wake Up!!!

So, maybe there have been a LOT of distractions this last month, but I've found myself this week with that feeling of urgency again. Perhaps, in all the distraction we lost a bit of momentum, and I want to start gaining speed again... I'm ready.

God brought a passage in Ephesians to mind, and after reading it, I really felt like it woke me up. Like, it slapped me right across the face... "wake up!!!!", it wasn't even one of those nice mommy "good morning" songs... it was like one of those "you are late for school, get the heck out of bed!!! what are you waiting for?" - sorts of wake up calls. No time to shower, or finding clean clothes, not even breakfast - just get in the car and go!

I think The Message paraphrase version is a bit more raw and conveys what I'm thinking a bit better - Ephesians 5: 11-17 :

"Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busy work, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.
Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffin;
Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants."

Don't get me wrong, I don't think this passage is saying that we are supposed to abandon all chores and tasks that don't have eternal consequences - we should still be cleaning our houses and bathing the children, etc.

What I do think this is saying is that we have been called out as Children of God to be different, separate, holy - and that means a priority shift in ways that maybe we hadn't explored before. I think, if we're willing and ready, God will show us what's going on in His Kingdom, and we can be a part of it - we can change the world... we can actively participate, instead of living Christian lives that look more like "theological historians".

In order to live that way, there must be action! - We have to actually engage ... move forward... and Wake Up, open our eyes and be ready to run. So, just like that - there will be change... otherwise what's the point? Some things are about to give... and we're about to take off running!
jenn

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