RISE AND SHINE!

Read Romans 13.

Rise and shine!  It is the call of a father to his child to wake up, get up, and dress up.  Many decades have passed since I was a boy, but I still remember having to get out of my warm bed and get ready to face a cold world in response to my father’s command. That is the call of our Father to His children, as we see in Romans 13.

We need to WAKE UP, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” (v.11‬). It is easy to get comfortable under the covers of the church building.  But, there is a job waiting for us outside those walls.  Let us hear the Father calling and wake up!

We need to GET UP, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand.” (v.12‬a). No hitting the snooze button!  Some of us get awakened during a time of challenge from the exhortation of a pastor or from the experience of a problem, only to roll back over and go back to sleep.  Get up!

We need to DRESS UP, “Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. ...But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (v.12b, 14‬). Take off the night clothes.  Spiritually speaking, you repent and remove the wardrobe of this sinful dreamworld. But, you don’t go out naked!  Clothe yourself in the armor of God, which is nothing less than Christ Himself in all His fullness.  It’s a hostile world, and you better have your armor on!

We need to WALK UP, “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.” (v.13‬). We can’t stay inside, feeding on God’s word, and adjusting our armor by looking in the mirror—important as that is.  Once we hear our Commander’s instructions, it’s time to get out the door.  It is an uphill walk, against the wind. Those we encounter live in revelry, drunkenness, lewdness, lust, strife, and envy.  They seek to bring us down to that level, but we must press on the upward way, and try to persuade them to come along.

Now—rise and shine!