In eternity there is indeed something true and sublime. But all these times and places and occasions are now and here. God himself culminates in the present moment and will never be more divine in the lapse of the ages. Time is but a stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it, but when I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away but eternity remains.
~Henry David Thoreau
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
Beloved, most who read this have experienced this first sharp intake of Spiritual breath. He said to you – out of deep eternity – “Live child. Breath anew.”
And you did.
And for that some of you, it all made sense from the beginning. You merely assumed that you had no life in and of yourselves. You had no illusions that you brought anything to the table. Your moment of salvation by Christ, was also a moment of total surrender. You awoke to a new life, crashed through the wicket gate and simply began to walk down the path that He set before you.
And if you are one of those blessed saints. ALL glory to G_d! Praise Him for those that hear, repent, believe and obey as one blessed and sacred act of reconciliation to the One who has poured out that same ministry!
Some of us, though, awoke to the light of our first Love – and it did indeed burn with holy fear. We fired into this new life full of a zealous energy, to go and do great things for the One who had saved us! But somewhere along the way, the fire faded and we began to doze. Life seemed just too hard, and eternity stretched out in some endless, ever-narrowing throated trap. It is as though the hardness of life this minute would just go on forever. And in this space, we despaired and just decided to check out and sleep (either figuratively or literally). Worse, some of us gave ourselves over to some (or most or all) of the sin that so easily entangles us. And this eventually took our eyes almost fully off of the Author and Finisher of our faith.
This writer is one of the latter. He saved me in my youth. i went to church all the time, graduated from Bible college, went on the mission field, and even learned to trust G_d a fair amount. He even allowed me to lead some kids to the Himself over the years. But i fell asleep. In trying to work out my salvation on my own – this, rather than in the fear and trembling that brings about a deeper knowledge of the work of G_d in my life – i ran totally out of any motivation to continue in the faith. i simply hurt. And with nothing Spiritual to heal the hurt, i turned to things that really only made the hurt worse.
But, even for silly believers like this one, the G_d who saved me from my sins, never quit doing the work in me that eventually saved me from myself. He crashed my life awake so severely, that the only choice was surrender to Him – or physical death. Thankfully, His great Grace enabled within me that final surrender so necessary if one is ever to sense and feel the Joy and Peace He so longs to pour into us; and to live the life of victory that He has promised is available to the believer.
Thankfully, upon awakening, my life is now filled with a Peace and Power that passes understanding. And He is using me to help others in ways i never thought possible even a year ago. He has shown me clearly that eternity is not some trudge down a never-ending linear path. Eternity is now in His presence. Eternity is to be awake to Him – right now – and that this simply does not ever have to change.
Glory to G_d that He saves us in such amazing and amazingly different ways!
So the question is, hopefully, abundantly clear: Are you asleep? Have you never awakened to the Joy of His salvation? Take your first breath in Him tonight! Don’t wait another second! (http://blog.ps1611.org/p/got-jesus-please-make-sure.html)
Further though, have you nodded off after being saved by Him – but are running out of strength because you were trying to do it all on your own? Cast off those works of darkness. Put on Jesus alone and wear the armor of His Light. Awaken to the truth that He alone, right now, is all you will ever need or want or desire.
Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a divine center, a speaking voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto itself…. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it…. Here is the slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action.
~Thomas R. Kelly (1893-1941)
