Romans 13:11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

    Having just finished the school year the thought of tests are behind us. But I was think-ing of tests all the same this morning. Not the regular kind where it’s the end of a unit in a par-ticular class. But the kind where it’s much more official. An ACT or GRE, for example. Most of us entered those tests with a measure of nervousness. A proctor read the instructions and mentioned that we should be aware of the time. When time was up they would announce, “Time’s up. Pencils down.” And that was it. Our score wasn’t recorded at that moment, but it was set.

    The apostle Paul spoke of a similar situation in today’s verse. We may have come to faith in Christ long ago. Likely that was a definite highpoint! We came to Jesus, confessing our sins believing in Him for forgiveness! A moment where we suddenly felt so alive! But over time, our experience with God may have calmed down considerably. It may have grown comfortable. And often, when we get really comfortable, we fall asleep. 

    We don’t have to feel terrible about that. Obviously it isn’t unique to us because Paul felt the need to write about it in his letter to the Romans! But, while we don’t have to feel specifically called out, we do need to do something about it. We need to wake up! In fact, it’s high time to awake! Sleeping is comfortable and necessary for health, but we can love it too much. Being spiritually asleep is not good. But why really is Paul so concerned about this? Because ‘our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.’ In other words, the time is drawing ever closer when we will hear, “Time’s up. Pencils down.”

    We don’t love to think about that. I know I don’t! But like it or not, as Steve Miller said, “Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future.” What we do here matters for eternity. Paul was writing to believers. He knew that putting one’s faith in Christ was just the beginning of a journey, not just a requirement to be checked off and forgotten. How we live is of great concern to Jesus. It’s high time to awake out of sleep!

                                    Only one life ’twill soon be past.                                                                                                                                                                           

                                    Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Blessings,

Pastor Russ