Have you ever known anyone who was a sleepwalker? Or sleeptalker? Okay, now admit it... Have you ever done anything weird in your sleep? It's okay, just about all of us have... Embrace it. Own it. The question I have always had is why? I mean, why all the freaky behavior when we shut our eyes? Alot of websites attribute the causes of somniloquy (sleeptalking) or somniambulism (sleepwalking) to stress or even genetics but the bottomline is that when we are asleep, we are reacting to the reality we are faced with in our dreams. We are unconscious and don't know what we are doing. We act irrationally as it appears to those who are awake but to the person sleeping...in that moment, whether they know it or not, they believe they are being perfectly normal. For those that are around others that are sleepwalking or talking it can be very frustrating. I know...I've had roommates who talked in their sleep and admittedly I've done my share of walking and talking. What happens when you try to wake them up? They can lash out at you or ignore you or get scared or scare you... In any case, it isn't fun.
Often times I get really frustrated watching television or reading magazines or listening to people on the radio who have no idea about the reality of God and what he has done and is doing. They misunderstand life itself and act irrationally, but of course, from their perspective they are acting totally sane. Romans 1 says that all people have a knowledge of God (whether consciously or unconsciously) but that most people exchange the truth of God for a lie. People are sleeping. And if we are honest, even those of us that know God as a friend often find ourselves falling asleep. But the truth, the truth of God is that he is a real and personal God who is in control of all things. He created all things and all things belong to him. He has called his people to himself and because of the sacrifice of his Son Jesus our sins are forgiven...we have been given a new heart that is capable of doing good work, and have the hope of a future spent with our Lord in the new heavens and new earth. As such, God deserves our faith, obedience, and worship. That's a tough wake up call for those that are sleeping, but it is one that needs to be made.
Yet, those of us that are awake often fear giving that kind of wake up call to people. We are afraid of being ignored or lashed out at or considered intolerant. But when you're dealing with someone who is actually sleepwalking and they are about to trip over something or hit something, we wouldn't hesitate to stop him/her regardless of the consequences. The fact is if we really believe in God then we know the consequences for spiritual sleepwalking are much more serious. But do we really trust what God has said or are we falling asleep too?
No comments:
Post a Comment