Wake up, sober up, and suit up

How are we, as followers of Jesus Christ, to live as we await His return? There are three things: we need to wake up, sober up, and suit up.

We need to wake up

Scripture tells us, “Let us not sleep, as others do” (1 Thessalonians 5:6). The Encyclopedia Britannica defines sleep as “a state of inactivity, with a loss of consciousness and a decrease in responsiveness to events taking place.”

There are people in the Church today who have gone to sleep. They are not watching the signs of the times, nor are they observing the “times and seasons.”

There is a lethargy and passiveness, even a laziness. There seems to be a disconnect between their so-called “spiritual life” and real life. Instead of “walking in the Spirit,” they are sleepwalking.

What Paul is saying in this verse is “Wake up and be ready for the Lord’s return!”

The excitement of Christmas Eve

Remember when you were a little kid and it was so hard to fall asleep on Christmas Eve? Maybe it was the excitement of opening your presents the next day. Or perhaps it was the hope of seeing Santa Claus. But it was a joyful anticipation that kept you awake, not some kind of dread or fear.

In the same way, looking for Christ’s return is not a miserable, repressive, or confining way to live. It’s a happy, joyful, purposeful way to live.

It detaches you from the world

Let me close today with the words of C.H. Spurgeon, who said, “It is a very blessed thing to be on the watch for Christ, it is a blessing to us now. How it detaches you from the world! You can be poor without murmuring. You can be rich without worldliness. You can be sick without sorrowing. You can be healthy without presumption. If you are always waiting for Christ’s coming, untold blessings are wrapped up in that glorious hope.”