Awake and Sober

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober… Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:6-8a,11

Here is some down-to-earth advice on how to live today: First, do not go to sleep. What Paul means is, do not fall into fantasies like, the purpose of living is to try to gain wealth or fame. The purpose of life is to use your abilities and your time to fulfill the will of God; to find adventure, excitement and drama in that instead of wasting time in self-indulgence. Do not go to sleep. Do not lose sight of reality. This is the hour when God is about to move on earth again. We ought to understand that and live in the light of that truth.

Second, be sober. Paul is not saying we must be grim and humorless, that we must never enjoy any recreation. He is urging that we take life seriously. Do not spend your time amusing yourself constantly. As the apostle puts it to the Ephesians, Buy up the opportunity because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16 RSV). Take advantage of the contacts you have with people to help them, to reach out to them. Love, support, encourage and minister to one another.

Our staff boarded a plane in Chicago for the final leg of our return trip from Israel. It was late at night, and there was no dinner to be served, so the flight attendants had a lot of time on their hands. Several of our pastors gathered with them in the back of the plane and began to talk with them about the Lord. They were eager to hear and had never heard anything like this before. One of them received the Lord and said she would be at church in the next few days; another received a Bible. These young women were spiritually hungry and ready to listen. The pastors were tired; they had been flying for thirteen hours and had missed a lot of sleep, but they were so caught up with the excitement of sharing with these flight attendants, they never slept a wink. They felt fulfilled; they were experiencing tremendous enjoyment of life.

And finally, encourage one another, and build each other up. It is so easy to lose sight of God's perspective. In a world that shoves God off to the side and is forever caught up in the things of the moment, it is easy to lose perspective, to think that life ought to be beautiful and wonderful. It is so easy to slip into the attitude of the world that protests in the face of trial, Why me? What have I done to deserve this? That is why we need to encourage one another and help one another to understand that no job is insignificant when done as unto the Lord (Romans 14:8). No task is meaningless when it involves reaching out in help to someone else. God is not forgetful of our labors of love, the apostle tells us. Scripture says, Do not to grow weary in well doing, for in due season you will reap if you faint not (Galatians 6:9).

Father, open my eyes to the opportunities around me today, that I might encourage someone and build them up in you.