Wednesday, December 14, 2016

by Alexandra Stewart

Romans 13:11-14
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

This passage in Romans is perfect for thinking about the questions of “What do we do while we wait?” Or “What is the World waiting for?” In the passage it says, “it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.” In the Harper Collins Study Bible, it explains that this term “wake” is a term for summoning to moral action in view of the time. The passage goes on to give metaphors of darkness and light, which is explained to suggest moral change of changing from evil deeds to good.

One thing that I have learned as I have matured is that it is easy to get caught up in the midst of all the negativity in the world and forget that there is still so much hope and so much good in the people of the world. Often when turning on the news, the world is shown in such a harsh and negative light with seeing stories on murders, robberies and shootings. It can be easy to think that the world has simply gone bad. This passage in Romans reminds us that even in the midst of darkness, there is light, we must simply clothe ourselves in the armor of this light and put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

I believe that this passage can very clearly speak to us today. We ask What is the World waiting for? And what do we do while we wait? This passage calls us to action. It calls us to “wake from sleep.” We are, as the Harper Collins Study Bible explains, literally being called to moral action and are then once again, called to change our ways from evil to good, from dark to light. I believe that can answer our questions. The world is waiting for us to start acting. It is waiting for us to work for peace in the world. It is waiting for us to work with those that we call “the other”. It is waiting for us to feed the homeless. It is waiting for us to love our neighbors. It is waiting for us to share God’s good news. It is waiting for us to stop spreading hate but love. The world is waiting for us to wake up!

In turn, what do we do while we wait? We start acting. We work for peace in the world. We work with those that we call “the other”. We feed the homeless. We love our neighbors. We share God’s good news. We stop spreading hate and start spreading love. We wake up!