Waking Up
by Kim Engelmann
“Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He’ll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn’t matter what time of the night he arrives; they’re awake—and so blessed!” —Luke 12:35-38, The Message
Sometimes we need some shaking to open our eyes and see what we are really experiencing in life. Life can be routine and boring, or it can be filled with experiences of immense poignancy and awe. Seeing life as a miracle, seeing another person for who they truly are and allowing wonder and beauty to overwhelm us, takes divine intervention. Like Saul who had scales fall from his eyes and lived life in a completely different way afterward, we need that touch of divine grace to wake us up to Jesus in our midst. This Scripture is very telling. When we are awake we are able to 1) let Jesus in, 2) allow Jesus to serve us by receiving His bounty, 3) be blessed by celebrating with wonder the joy of being in close fellowship with Him. It’s easier to stay awake if we know we might actually encounter Jesus at any minute. It’s easier to stay awake if we are looking forward to a party with Him! When I am in relationship with another and I am awake, I see Jesus in that individual. When I am asleep, all I notice is one more person.
VIEW:
[To purchase a copy of this video (or a longer version) go here]
READ:
- Waking Up: A Moment of Clarity by Dale Ryan
- Awaking Through Rest by Teresa McBean
[For additional reading about Waking Up we encourage you to get a copy of Recovering Faith: Words for the Way. Volume 1]
THINK:
- Do you have a way of telling if, on any given day, you are awake or asleep?
- What signs indicate that you are asleep? That you are awake?
- There are many reasons for living life with our eyes closed. Stress is a big factor, along with discouragement and pain of many kinds. With this knowledge, how might we learn to wake up when we sense that we are numbing ourselves to life?
- Think about a time you remember being fully awake to life. What awed you? What gave you joy? Who was there, and how did you see them?
- Receiving what has already been given is hard for those of us who haven’t let go of our own need to pursue, strive, and fix. How does staying awake keep us on our toes in terms of being able to receive more fully the gift of life that is already ours?
PRAY
Jesus, You were awake all the time.
You knew exactly what God
was telling You to do
and You never took anyone for granted.
You were fully alive and totally aware.
Let the scales of numbness fall from my eyes
that I might take in the gift of life fully
and live every day
with my spiritual eyes
wide open.
Amen
