Listen

The night is almost over, and the day is near. So let’s get rid of the actions that belong to the darkness and put on the weapons of light. Let’s behave appropriately as people who live in the day, not in partying and getting drunk, not in sleeping around and obscene behavior, not in fighting and obsession. Instead, dress yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and don’t plan to indulge your selfish desires.

Romans 13:12-14

Think

What do indulgence and sleeping have in common? Paul speaks to this in this portion of his letter to the church at Rome. Consumption was the lure of Roman culture. Whether it was in the worship of the human body, philosophy, athletics, food and drink, or other vices, self-gratification left one in a state of slumber. But Paul sounds the alarm, shaking the believer awake and reminds us that in Christ, who is the dawn of a new era, we are people of the daybreak and not the night.

Nocturnal behaviors only deplete the body, and although sleep provides rest, here Paul uses it to highlight the state of being inattentive and aloof. The remedy for the vices of the flesh are the virtues of Christ. “Putting on Jesus Christ” like a suit of armor guards the body from its own destructive desires and thereby enables us to live as people of the Day.

Walk in the Light, beautiful Light…!

Miriam Phillips-Stephens

Pray

Light of the World, you have shown me how to shun dimness and to walk in the newness of the day.

As I adorn myself by putting on Christ – shine through me and protect me from the evils of the night.

In your holy name I pray, amen.

Go

Believe that God’s word is active in you and in the world that God has not ceased to love.