Day At Hand!

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and glance at the alarm clock. When I do so it is not necessarily to see what the actual time is, but rather to figure how much time there is left to sleep before the alarm goes on. Then when the alarm does sound, I like to push the snooze button a couple times before finally getting out of bed. Though I might wish to remain in the comfort of the bed it is time to WAKE FROM SLEEP and step into the day God has already begun. It is time to cast off the covers and the night clothes and PUT ON CLOTHING SUITABLE FOR THE DAY God is providing.

Through the death of Christ on the cross, God opened the door for our salvation. Though we have the encouragement in our relationship with Christ that we are presently saved ( Ephesians 2:5 & 8) and can know that we have eternal life ( 1 John 5:13), there is still a sense in which the full realization of our salvation is yet to come and that will be when we have left this realm and have entered our heavenly rest. Therefore, it is important for us to presently remain awake to the manner in which we live and prepare ourselves for that which is yet to come.

In Paul’s letter to the church at Rome we read…
“(11) 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. (12) 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.” ( Romans 13:11-12 ESV)

There is a great day coming, but for now we are to wear the “armor of light” as we live in a realm where we are surrounded by darkness and works associated with it. We need to remain alert and awake to fend off the things that challenge our faith. We have not been give a specific date regarding either the day of our death or our Lord’s second coming (note Matthew 24:36-37), but each day we walk on in faith we can be encouraged that the full realization of our salvation is yet one day closer than it was before. What a bright and glorious day it will be when we come face to face with our Lord. However, for now let us not be caught dozing off, but rather continue to press on in faith, CLOTHED FOR THE WORKS God desires us to be involved in today.

Have a great day AWAKE AND DRESSED FOR DEEDS OF LIGHT!
Carl

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