The Alarm Clock Just Buzzed
Sleeping peacefully, snuggled under a cozy quilt, I was suddenly awakened by the shrill sound of an alarm clock. I am known in the family as an “early bird.” My eyes pop open at first light and I hit the floor running. I am the one who walks into the office with a cheery good morning but can barely whisper good night as I drag myself up the stairs at bedtime. Lately, however, the nights are cooler and the sun hasn’t quite made an appearance to signal that a new day has begun. This “morning person” is hearing the alarm on a more frequent basis.
As I reached to turn off the alarm, I was reminded of Luke 21:34, And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. This may seem like a strange verse with which to greet the new day, but the more I meditated on it, the stronger I felt that God had impressed this verse on my heart.
We are living in a time of great turmoil in the United States. During the 50 years that I have been alive, I cannot remember such a time of unrest, uncertainty, fear, confusion, and unanswered questions. Our minds and energies can become so caught up with Wall Street, Washington, our jobs, our possessions and paying for them, our families, and the recreational activities that we fail to see the day in which we are living. As Luke states, our focus is centered on overindulgence, satisfying our desires, or just getting by every day, ignoring the warning signs that are flashing before our very eyes. The alarm clock is sounding but we hit the snooze button and snuggle down to a few more moments of blissful sleep.
As a child, I remember fiery messages regarding the soon return of the Lord. People would run to the altar, afraid to leave the church without getting everything “right” with God. Today, if we can get them to the church, the yawns and furtive glances at the clock encourage the preacher to shorten his sermon and say a quick closing prayer. Actually, I find very few churches who even mention the rapture and even fewer churchgoers who are looking for it to happen any day.
Hebrews 9:28 tells us that Jesus will appear unto those that look for Him, II Timothy 4:8 speaks of the crown of righteousness that we who love His appearing shall receive and Titus 2:13 reminds us to look for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. I am struck by the fact that we are to be looking, longing and waiting with eager expectation for the return of the Lord. The early church would greet each other with “Maranatha” or “Oh, Lord Come.” Today our greetings in the church have changed to the golf game we have scheduled at noon, the new restaurant that we can’t wait to try, or the latest movie we viewed last night.
A prophecy came forth in a sermon I was listening to last Sunday evening that said, “The things that are happening in the world have been given to shaking us out of our slumber. The trumpet has already been lifted to the lips to be blown but God is giving us a little more time to reach one more lost soul.” God is trying to shake us from our slumber but we are simply turning over and snuggling under the covers. I fear the church world has entered a season of comfort where the room is darker because we have lost truth and the fire is missing from the sermons leaving the nights a little cooler. Let us awake from our slumber and arise before we hear the alarm; there is still much work to be accomplished.
