February 13 – Keep
Yourself Alive
Luke 12:35 – "Be
dressed, ready for service, and keep your lamps burning, like men
waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that
when he comes and knocks, they can immediately open the door for
him."
In 1994, King's X
recorded a song called, "Sunshine Rain". The bridge had
these words:
...a friend of mine
who's fallen down a
million times
told me, told me
feelings never go
away
you have to learn to
live this way
and keep yourself
alive -
that's what he said.
The context of the song is
vague, but I can glean a few spiritual truths from those lines.
First, although unrelated to the verse above, I can walk by faith in
obedience to the commands of God, no matter how I feel (2 Corinthians
5:7). Secondly, there is a sense in our lives, that we have to "keep
ourselves alive", in a spiritual sense. This is where the verse
in Luke 12 applies.
Jesus expects us to live
our lives daily on purpose. His life was perfectly lived that way.
Even if we don't know what specific direction to take in the
circumstances in which we find ourselves, we are to watch and be
ready for our master to "show up" unexpectedly.
In my 40s I would spend a
few weeks every year hiking the mountain trails of West Virginia.
One October, I pitched my tent by the side of a road on top of a
mountain, right next to a trail that led to an well-known eagle
lookout, with a small building. It was foggy at dusk, when I pitched
my tent, so I didn't know that there was actually a house nearby. I
awoke in the middle of the night to hear voices, which was quite
disturbing. However, I eventually went back to sleep and awoke at
daybreak. I had hoped to hike to the lookout, but it was still quite
foggy. I decided to venture anyway. The fog was very thick, which
did not hinder me following the trail. However, I could not see more
than 30 feet ahead of me at any given time. As I walked, I heard a
voice inside say that when one cannot see what is ahead, keep walking
anyway. To me, that was God's spirit telling me to keep walking in
faith, keeping myself alive. This concept is related to what we find
in Philippians 3:16. "Only let us live in step with what we
have already attained."
What are some practical
ways of "keeping ourselves alive"? Hebrews 10:24-25
commands us to "consider how we may spur one another towards
love and good deeds. Let us not quit meeting together, as some are
in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another all the
more..." That can mean attending church, as long as there is
purposeful conversation among believers, not just listening to a
soliloquy. Another way is to set
aside time in our day to worship God, praying to him, thanking him,
and spending a little time reminding ourselves of what is
communicated in the Bible. Of course, we need to engage people where
they live, acting upon what we know to do, in accordance with Jesus'
commands (which are numerous, but not burdensome) (1 John 5:3-4 &
James1:22).
Don't let yourself start
to fade spiritually. Keep yourself alive. Let's press on, seeking
to experience that abundant life that Jesus talked about in John 10.
