Awake!

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I was a teenager my parents took a vacation through the Smokey Mountains. My cousin of the same age and myself accompanied them. 

While traveling through some of the most beautiful scenery of our country my cousin and I slept in the backseat.  Multiple attempts to wake us so we could view the glories outside our windows were futile.  As young teenagers, we valued sleep more than vistas.  We weren't able to awake to the beauties around us.



The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, "Awake to righteousness, and sin not;" (1 Corinthians 15:34.)  It seems there are times in our lives we simply choose to remain asleep to righteousness.  Just as my cousin and I just ignored the beautiful mountain vistas outside our windows, we choose to ignore even the choice of righteousness.  Yet to do so seems to lead to the inevitable unrighteousness. 

There is no neutrality, we either walk in the spirit of life and true holiness or we walk after the flesh.  We walk in the sleep of ignoring our walk with Christ or we walk in "newness of life."  We have a choice and we have a choice each and every minute.  The last minute is past, only this minute is alive unto us now.

There is an old movie in which the hero must choose one cup among hundreds.  The person before him chooses wrongly and is immediately annihilated.  The Keeper of the cups states in the most droll manner, "He chose poorly."    We too, like the hero in this movie, must make wise choices, only our choices have eternal consequences.  Let us remember that each moment represents a choice to us to choose to awake unto righteousness or to walk after the flesh.  Let us "choose wisely."

"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, 

choose you this day whom ye will serve. . .

. . .but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

 Joshua 24:15