It’s Later Than It’s EverBeen Before!
Romans 13:11-14 CSB - [11] Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. [12] The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. [13] Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. [14] But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and don't make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh.
The story goes of a little boy whose family had a big grandfather clock in their home. When the clock would strike at the top of the hour it could be heard all over the house. One night as the clock was striking midnight, the little boy was counting each chime. One, two, three and on and on it went. When it approached twelve something happened that had never happened before. The clock let out one more chime. The clock struck thirteen! When the little boy realized what had happened, he jumped out of his bed and ran to his mom and dad’s room. He jumped on their bed screaming “Mommy and daddy, It’s later than it’s ever been before!”
So it is today. It’s later than its ever been before! We are one day closer to eternity. With the strike of each passing hour, we as believers, are one day closer to the Kingdom of God.
Based on the above Bible passage we are encouraged to live a life of spiritual alertness and moral purity. The time is short. The lateness of the hour, spiritually speaking, demands that our lack of enthusiasm and inactivity be put away. Our salvation is nearer than ever. The Savior is coming to take us to the Father’s house (John 14:1-3).
The age in which we live is like a night of sin that has just about run its course. The day of eternal glory is about to dawn for believers. We are living in the dawning of a new day! This means that we should discard all the filthy garments of worldliness - that is, everything associated with unrighteousness and evil. And we should put on the armor of light, which means the protective covering of a holy life. The pieces of this armor are detailed in Ephesians 6:14-18. They describe the elements of true Christian character.
Notice that the emphasis is on our practical Christian walk. Since we are children of the day, we should walk as children of light. We should let our lights shine for Jesus. What does a Christian have to do with wild drunken parties, sexual promiscuity, sinful excesses, or even with bickering and jealousy? Nothing at all.
The best policy we can follow is, first of all, put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is something we do. This means that we should adopt His lifestyle. Live as He lived. Follow His example. Secondly, we should not make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh. The flesh here is the old carnal man. It’s our sinful nature. It constantly cries to be pampered with comfort, luxury, illicit sexual indulgence, empty amusements, worldly pleasures and materialism, among other things.
We make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh when we buy things that are associated with temptation. We make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh when we make it easy for ourselves to sin. We make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh when we give a higher priority to the physical than to the spiritual. We should not indulge the flesh even a little. Rather, we should make no plans to gratify the desires of the flesh in any way.
It truly is later than it has ever been before. The night is nearly over, the day is near. We need to take the necessary actions to draw closer to Jesus. Let’s put off sin and put on Jesus. Let Him impact every area of our lives – our thoughts, our words, our actions.
Until next time...enjoy the journey!
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