Where Are We At?

“Sleeper, awake!

Rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

— Ephesians 5:14b (NRSV)

Four important questions:

1.      Where are we at?

2.      Where are we at?

3.      Where are we at?

4.      Where are we at?

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This is a letter to a sleepy culture—a society having lost its way—with subjects of that society wedded sleepily to its foolish way. Jesus came to warn us to be alert, for the Kingdom of God is near. This Kingdom, an ever-present and eternal one, is certainly coming. Heaven will not help us if we are not ready.

Where are we at?

1. Where, O Where?

So, where do we find ourselves in this life? What have we experienced and what is God saying to us through those experiences? It’s not too late to change.

2. Right Now, Where?

The first question leads to the second one.

Right now, this present moment, from all we have experienced, where are we? Are we on God’s path, alert in the present moment? Or, have we fallen asleep at the wheel of life? What are we missing? Or, do we feel genuinely alert to what God is doing?

3. What About Me?

It’s usually framed selfishly: “What about me?” Not this time.

What about me—where am I at?  Am I a sleeper?  It’s a rhetorical question.  Of course I am.  The key answer is where is my sleepiness, presently and by nature?  I cannot advance on the trail of spiritual discovery unless I am roused from my slumber in this part/these parts of my life.

4. Where Have We Landed?

Where we are at is usually representative of where we are stuck.

We are all appended to ruts in varying ways through the seasons of life. Our task is to identify the rut and to break out of our sleepiness.

Where we land in life is the key stimulus to the response God is calling us to. In Genesis 39:20, Joseph found himself unjustly imprisoned. Life does not always promise a predictable and just ride.

Whenever we land in unjust places, whether it’s through sleepiness or not, it is up to us to respond in the right way. It’s all we can do.

***

God’s key task of us is to be awake; alert to God’s Word and what God is saying through our societal circumstances. We need to be ready, for the eternal Kingdom of Heaven is near.

When we attend to the revelation of God in being roused from our spiritual slumber, Christ comes into our lives to shine on us. We are blessed for being alert and abundantly blessed for being ready. The Kingdom of Heaven is near.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.