Stay Awake, Stay Alive

"And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake." Mark 13:37

You may have seen the above sign on the highway lately.  A bit oversimplified, perhaps, but effective: I can remember once or twice driving to the point of my head nodding, which is not a good thing at all. My friend tells the story of himself and another awaking to the fact that they had rolled to a stop in the middle of a [thankfully deserted] highway. 

Seeing one of these recently got me thinking about our spiritual state. Some of us are awake, but not necessarily "alive", whereas others of us consider ourselves "alive", but are we awake?

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism (though really he was just an Anglican Church reformer), was keenly aware of the different spiritual states of man. The first, or natural, state of man, he believed scripture described as one of sleep: "his senses are not awake: they discern neither spiritual good nor evil" (Sermon 9).  The second state described is a man "under the law", or the "legal" state: one who is aware of his sinful state but still in bondage to it.  Between these two states, Wesley describes in other places a person who has been "awakened": that is, they become aware they are searching for something but they know not what. The class meeting, or small group of the day, was invaluable in guiding someone through this state, helping them see their need for a Saviour. 

If a person progresses and presses through the "legal" state, they reach what Wesley called the "Evangelical" state, or being "under grace". Such a state involved liberty from both guilt from sin and sin itself: a true liberation where one could truly say he or she was spiritually "alive". 

Some of us have experienced such liberation. We are freed from the guilt of past sins, and also, though occasionally stumbling, are freed from habitual sin that once bound us. We "rejoice in hope of the glory of God". (Romans 5:2) However some of us become satisfied that this is the "be all end all" of our faith, and need to ask the question again: "Are we awake?"

The painting above is called "Who Cares?" by Mauricio Palacio, and was inspired by "A Vision of Lost Souls" by Salvation Army founder General William Booth. It depicts a rocky island thrashed my waves, where some people have built a comfortable landing and are engaged in various leisurely pursuits. Below them in the waves are people drowning. I hope I don't have to explain the significance of the picture.

Have we forgotten from where we were rescued? Have we become asleep to the cries of the unsaved? Jesus' admonition above was to the disciples when he found them sleeping, to continue in prayer. What does our prayer life look like? Is it filled with cries to awaken the unsaved?

If we are comfortable in our faith and ministries, Jesus calls to us and has the same message: "Stay awake!"