Devotion #2: Do Not Wait

I do not like to wait. Two days for an Amazon delivery can feel like forever! We see that everywhere in our culture today. We want everything in an instant - coffee, mashed potatoes, and pain relief. We have become obsessed with instant gratification, always looking for the next quick fix to make us more “comfortable.” That is, until we start talking about our spiritual lives, then we can just take our time! “I can wait until I am older to think about God; I will wait until I have children of my own; I will wait until I see a sign from Heaven; I have a long time until Jesus comes back; I am just waiting for my friend to notice I follow God and ask me about it.” Have you ever made one of those excuses or one like it? 

Romans 13:11 says, “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” The Apostle Paul starts off this verse with a connective phrase: “Besides this.” In order to really understand what he is about to say, we need to have a good idea of what he previously said. Starting in verse 8, Paul writes, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments…are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:8-10). Paul reminds us that following the commandments means to love our neighbor, and loving our neighbor means that we fulfill the Law. It is now time to wake up! We need to quit putting off what God wants us to do because the day of salvation is near. We must have a sense of urgency - like waiting for the Amazon truck. 

I love how “The Message” paraphrases this passage in Romans. “Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love. But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed” (Romans 13:10-14, MSG). 

Do we love one another that way? Do we love our neighbor enough to share the Gospel without hesitation, without putting it off? Remember what Paul says here, “Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” Who around you needs to know? I pray that we are all awakened with a desperate need to share the Gospel of Jesus with anyone and everyone. We should be ready to make the most of every opportunity because of how we love those around us. Are you “up and awake to what God is doing”? 

Matthew 24:42 says, “Stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:44 adds, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”