Eyes Wide Opened
“The soul is pierced by beauty and suffering. But each moment that we live outside the awareness of God’s presence is a kind of sleepwalking, which is why Paul wrote, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Somebody’s eyes get opened to the fact that God is right here in this ordinary place, with this ordinary person” (John Ortberg, God is Closer than You Think, p. 20).
Several days ago I finished reading John Eldredge’s Waking the Dead, so when I came across this statement by Ortberg in his opening chapter, my eyes really were wide open! Let’s just say, God had my undivided attention!
I’ve got to admit, in a lot of ways, I have been spiritually sleepwalking through the last couple of years. I have been on auto-pilot. This isn’t to say that I’ve been living in sin. Rather, truth be told, this last year was a year of great victory for me in several areas of my life. But in the midst of these moral victories, I have felt very much asleep. I recently told a friend that I feel like I’ve been treading water… I’ve been in the water, but I certainly have not been going anywhere fast.”
Like so many good Christians, I excused these feelings away, claiming that this is just some desert, wilderness experience that God has me in right now. (Funny, how spiritual we can make our deadness sound.) In retrospect, I didn’t fight too hard to get out of it. I think I became at ease sleeping, comfortably curling up under the covers while a war was being waged outside of my bedroom door.
But in the last few days and weeks, the Holy Spirit has been sounding an alarm to me personally, “WAKE UP!” It’s an imperative statement—“Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Christ is more than willing to shine on me, but He’s waiting. Waiting for what? Waiting for me to wake up… to rise from the dead!
A little bit ago, after putting Kyle down for an afternoon nap (we’re still on vacation at the beach) I decided to take a nap of my own. After about 1 ½ hours of sleeping, I was awakened by my brother-in-law’s phone. What a horrible way to wake up from a nap on the beach! But, on the other hand, what a horrible way to spend my time on such a beautiful beach… asleep!
I want to live my life fully alive—eyes wide opened to God’s activity and presence in my life. What a joy to finally feel the light of Christ shining down on me again!
Several days ago I finished reading John Eldredge’s Waking the Dead, so when I came across this statement by Ortberg in his opening chapter, my eyes really were wide open! Let’s just say, God had my undivided attention!
I’ve got to admit, in a lot of ways, I have been spiritually sleepwalking through the last couple of years. I have been on auto-pilot. This isn’t to say that I’ve been living in sin. Rather, truth be told, this last year was a year of great victory for me in several areas of my life. But in the midst of these moral victories, I have felt very much asleep. I recently told a friend that I feel like I’ve been treading water… I’ve been in the water, but I certainly have not been going anywhere fast.”
Like so many good Christians, I excused these feelings away, claiming that this is just some desert, wilderness experience that God has me in right now. (Funny, how spiritual we can make our deadness sound.) In retrospect, I didn’t fight too hard to get out of it. I think I became at ease sleeping, comfortably curling up under the covers while a war was being waged outside of my bedroom door.
But in the last few days and weeks, the Holy Spirit has been sounding an alarm to me personally, “WAKE UP!” It’s an imperative statement—“Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Christ is more than willing to shine on me, but He’s waiting. Waiting for what? Waiting for me to wake up… to rise from the dead!
A little bit ago, after putting Kyle down for an afternoon nap (we’re still on vacation at the beach) I decided to take a nap of my own. After about 1 ½ hours of sleeping, I was awakened by my brother-in-law’s phone. What a horrible way to wake up from a nap on the beach! But, on the other hand, what a horrible way to spend my time on such a beautiful beach… asleep!
I want to live my life fully alive—eyes wide opened to God’s activity and presence in my life. What a joy to finally feel the light of Christ shining down on me again!
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