Truly Woke

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I have always fallen asleep extremely easily.

Whilst this is a positive thing when I go to bed, it’s also been embarrassing at other times: when I have fallen asleep watching TV, at the cinema, getting my hair cut, in church or even in meetings at work. I have lost count of the times I have missed my stop on trains and tubes. And waking up on a Night Bus at some distant terminus at an unearthly hour is no fun.

I used to think my sleepiness was due to over-doing it and not resting enough, but a few years ago I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Its a condition which means you don’t breathe properly at night, which leads to you constantly disrupting your sleep by gasping for air.  I was assessed overnight at a Sleep Clinic and was prescribed a CPAP machine and mask which I have to wear while asleep. 

To be honest, I hate wearing it. My wife says it’s like sleeping with Darth Vader. But I have been diagnosed with a serious condition and its important I follow the medical advice. And I am less sleepy now.

Spiritual sleepiness

But I have also suffered from another condition: spiritual sleepiness.

It’s a condition which easily creeps up on you.  The neglect of personal disciplines, of making time to pray, reflect and read the Bible. Allowing that quiet space where you are genuinely open before God to get squeezed out of daily life.

And the corporate discipline of participating in a church community also fades. Whether being casual about attending, or allowing yourself to just become a passenger, consumer or critic.  A comfort zone in which to snooze, rather than community in which to serve.   

We need challenging from these religious ruts.  Any sense of adventure, mission and authentic purpose cannot survive healthily without personal and corporate discipline.  Its why Jesus told us to be disciples.

Rising from the dead

In Ephesians 5:14 it says:

 “Wake up O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.”

Waking up spiritually is deeper than just being enthusiastic or energetic – its about rising from the dead.

We allow ourselves to die spiritually when we cut ourselves off from grace, redemption and hope. When we allow unforgiveness to fester, resentments to take hold, consumerism to imprison us, deceitfulness to be entrenched, selfish ambition to dominate.  These things deaden our lives.

These are the parts of life where we need Jesus’ resurrection power to reawaken us.

Letting the light in

But this will not happen unless we are honest about reality and open ourselves to a truthful diagnosis about our own condition: our laziness, selfishness, fearfulness or bitterness. We need to expose the lies that we are living by – whether personally or corporately.

‘For it is light that makes everything visible’ (Ephesians 5:14)

This is why Matt and Beth Redman’s recent film Let There Be Light was powerful. With grace and truth it shared the reality of the problematic and abusive culture they were part of at Soul Survivor.  

Waking up involves letting the light in: choosing to open the curtains on darkness and expose reality. This allows Christ to shine on us and our lives.

Producing fruit

‘Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them’ (Ephesians 5:11)

And of course, light is vital to life: nothing cannot grow or produce fruit without exposure to light.  And the same is true in our lives. The darkness of the world does not produce the fruit of God’s kingdom. 

Personal and corporate spiritual disciplines are not simply about inward piety or ticking a box on some Evangelical scorecard.  They are about awaking ourselves from spiritual slumbers, drawing on the resurrection power of God and producing fruit in our lives.  

In the resurrection of Jesus we find the deepest resources to work for hope, justice and wholeness in a world full of pain and suffering. The God who created us and loves us has conquered death itself.

Let’s awaken to this reality. And be truly woke.

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Based on a talk on Ephesians 5:8-20 at Streatham Baptist Church, starts 3:49: