“Awake to righteousness and sin not. . .”
I Corinthians 15:34a
With so many souls hanging in the balances of eternity, we can ill-afford to be “at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1a).
Picture, if you will, a family fast asleep in their home at night. You’ve worked late and you’re on your way home when you spot smoke pouring out of a vent in their roof. You stop and look more closely and suddenly see bright orange flames coming out from under the eave.
What do you do? Say a quick prayer and whisper, “Oh, I hope they wake up”? Or, do you run up to the door and bang on it as hard as you can while screaming “Wake up! Wake up! Your house is on fire! Your lives are in danger! Wake up! Wake up!!”
Or, picture this, if you will.
You have a precious, newborn baby in your home. She’s so pretty and precious—a true bundle of joy. You’ve laid her in her cradle for the night, but have a monitor located nearby and one in your bedroom to hear her slightest whimper during the night.
In the wee hours of the morning you rise up to check on her and there in the darkness you see something in the crib with her. You strain in the dim light from the nightlight to see what it is, but you can’t. So, you turn on the overhead light.
And, there it is: The biggest, ugliest, most poisonous snake you’ve ever see in your life, coiled up in the bed right beside your tiny little baby.
What will you do? Panic and begin crying hysterically, hoping the snake will slither off? Will you call 911 and wait for the police to arrive? Or, will you grab something to kill the snake with lest it bite your little baby and she die?
Oh, dear Pilgrim, if we would run to the rescue of those who are perishing physically, why, then, are we so unconcerned about those around us who are dying spiritually, living in this world “without God and without hope” (Eph. 2:12)? What are we afraid of? And, why aren’t we more concerned?
Sadly, most likely, it’s probably because of the twin sins of Carnality and Complacency. Some are unconcerned because they’ve made friends with sin and love them too much to turn away from them. Or, they’re Laodicean Church members (Rev. 3:14-17), who are lukewarm and content with offering to the Lord Jesus the leftovers of their lives.
If there was ever a time to “awake to Righteousness and sin not,” it’s now! The reason: “For some have not the knowledge of God—i.e., they don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ in the forgiveness of sin and are on their road to hell—and no one seems to care” (I Cor. 15:34b). And, that’s why Paul said “I speak this to your shame” (v.34c).
“Now is the accepted time; behold now is the Day of Salvation” (II Cor. 6:2b). Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next month. Now. The Hour is late. The need is great. And “the laborers are few” (Mt. 9:37). Awake and arise, Pilgrim! It’s time to get to work!
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated August 28, 2010
