April 2, 2018
Ephesians 5:14b
Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
CONSIDER THIS
Today is the day after Easter.
Could it be that this is our biggest mistake: to somehow file Easter as history. Do we think of it as an event in the past that we remember and celebrate, like an anniversary or a birthday or a holiday? We wake up early, dress nicely, pack out the church, say the words, sing the songs, say “Amen” and eat a huge lunch.
And it’s Monday again, the day after Easter.
Sure, we are glad, but it’s more of a glad like we won the big game. Churches will talk about the crowds. Families will talk about their celebrations. If we are honest, though, can’t we admit this Easter was a lot like last Easter and the one before that and pretty much all the other Easters we remember?
I don’t mean to be a “debbie downer,” but I do have a deeply challenging question to ask us. It may offend you. I don’t mean to. I ask it as much of myself as I do you. I believe it may be the least asked, most important question of our time. It may strike you as incredulous or even absurd. I’ll stop now and just ask it.
What if we are all asleep?
I’m not questioning our beliefs or commitment or resolve. As a people, we are pretty faithful to our faith as we understand it. We know a lot. We do a lot. We are pretty sure we “get it” and are “in it to win it.” But . . .
What if we are all asleep?
One thing is for sure if that were the case. We wouldn’t know it. I don’t mean to say we don’t love Jesus and do our best to follow him. Clearly, we know what we know. It’s more like we don’t know what we don’t know. Could that be the case?
Don’t you think there’s got to a whole lot more than what we know and have experienced? Wouldn’t things be different in our lives, our families, our cities, in the world, if the true power of the Resurrection were in us?
What if we are all asleep?
We would need to be awakened.
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Might this be Paul’s point?
Today is not the day after Easter. What if there is no day after Easter. What if there is only Easter—today, tomorrow and forever? Resurrection!
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
THE PRAYER
Abba Father, we thank you for your son, Jesus, the Risen One, the One who destroyed death by death. Would you awaken me to the kind of holy discontent that leads me to let go of the status quo. I confess I know there is more than I know and I declare I want to know it. We need a great awakening. In Jesus name, amen.
THE QUESTIONS
- How do you respond to the question of the day, “What if we are all asleep?”
- Can you think of a time in Scripture or since then when everyone was asleep?
- On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 is highest) what is your level of holy discontent? Describe that.
P.S. Thanks so much to so many of you who wrote me following Friday’s post. It may take me a while to write everyone back but I will. Let’s keep showing up, being real and leaning in. I appreciate you, and I feel genuinely appreciated by you.
Subscribe to receive the Daily Text email.
EXPLORE BANDED DISCIPLESHIP with the Daily Text.
Join the Daily Text Facebook group here.
Join the Daily Text Fasting Challenge here. Whenever you sign up, it will begin the following Tuesday.
J.D. Walt, Sower-in-Chief for Seedbed, is a Bond Slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. jd.walt@seedbed.com.