Awake, O Sleeper!

This morning came a little earlier than I would have liked — Daylight Savings Time always does. Sometimes that morning sunlight seems more intrusive than illuminating. You’re still half-lost in sleep, and that sun is demanding of you a lot more than you’re ready to give.

I’ve said it, and I’m sure you’ve said it, too. “Just five more minutes.” You hit the “snooze” button on your iPhone once (maybe twice? Show of hands?) and turn away from the window.

So many kings of the Old Testament were steadfast in their sleepy ways, rejecting the light their God tried to share with them. Likewise, John tells us that, though Light — Christ — was sent into the world, the world preferred darkness.

Sometimes it seems, when reading through Scripture, that all throughout salvation history, God has been trying to pull back the curtains, to rouse us from our defiant slumber. And we resist Him. Time and time again, we resist Him.

Light brings a certain responsibility with it. It seems to compel productivity. Furthermore, there’s no hiding in the light. Any photographer worth his salt knows how to manipulate it, highlighting the good and casting some merciful shade on the bad.

As we enter into the fourth week of Lent, we’re getting so close to the main event. Can we handle the light that will come on Easter morning, bursting into the tomb as the stone is rolled away? Can we keep ourselves from hitting the “snooze” button on our souls, and sit up to face the dawn of a new day?

— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS