Waking Up

6 min read

49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. 51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
— Luke 22:49-51

It is natural that Jesus’s disciples would suddenly come to life when they saw the threat of the crowd coming to arrest Jesus. Even in that late hour, the adrenaline must have been kicking in, pumping up the hearts of the disciples so that they were now awake and ready to fight. This is the moment that they had anticipated all along. And now it was time to lay down their lives for the kingdom!

Except that that was never God’s plan for ushering His kingdom into the world. God’s plan was to offer reconciliation to the world through the sacrifice of His one and only Son on the cross to make atonement for, to pay the penalty for, all sins of all of humanity across all of time.

The curse of sin that separated the world from God had to be nullified. Only then could the kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven. And only Christ could make this happen.

But when it comes to the kingdom of God, our sinful hearts always tempt us to do more than what God has already done. Our sinful hearts tempt us to take control of things that are completely beyond our control. And when we give into such temptations, only then do our hearts come alive.

Or if our sinful hearts discover that we are not in control, we become filled with anxiety, stress, sorrow, exhaustion, paralysis of analysis, sleep.

But Jesus says, “Why are you sleeping” (verse 46a)? What do I really think the kingdom of God is all about?

And Jesus says, “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (verse 46b)—the temptation of falling away from the purpose of God by either trying to wrestle control away from God or by just giving up for lack of control.

There are plenty of things that God would have me do to build up His kingdom here on earth. But it must begin first with waking up from the deception of sin and understanding that God is in control and that God has revealed the way in His word. Second, I need to learn to actively be still and listen to the voice of Christ through His word and through His Spirit in prayer.

I need to surrender to God’s sovereign plan, and I need to listen to His voice. And I should draw my sword only when the Lord tells me to draw my sword.

Father, I confess that so much of what I have done is to try to build up Your church on my own terms. I thank You Lord for disciplining me and discipling me so that I might wake up from any self righteousness. Make me a prayer warrior, Lord, and give me ears to hear and a heart to obey. Make me slow to speak so that I may hear Your voice. And keep every weapon away from me until You want me to wield it. In Jesus’s name. Amen.