Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes
Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. --
Jesus often cautioned his disciples to stay awake. That's because nothing prevents us from seeing the miracles of salvation quite like falling asleep. But when we're unhappy it hurts too much to keep our eyes open. So we sleep our way through life by overworking, overshopping, overtalking, overeating, or overdrinking. The purpose of these numbing distractions is to pull something over our loneliness, guilt, or despair. We might as well pull the covers over our heads.
When you are sleeping the best you can do is dream. But your dreams will never be more than a fanciful escape from the hard realities of life, unless they come from God. Sacred dreams are found only in the intersection between how it is and how it ought to be, where the Savior is always at work. If you're going to see him, and witness his unfolding salvation, you have to pay attention to your life.
Those who are lonely are saved not by spending all of their time at work, the gym, or in front of a television, but by praying into their loneliness until they see the Christ who is with them. Those who struggle with guilt are saved not by focusing on the assets side of their life's ledger, but by confessing their sin to the Savior who died to free them from guilt. And those who despair are saved not by their sleepy cynicism, but by staying at the tomb of Jesus until they see it is empty.
-- Craig Barnes