When the Alarm Goes Off, It’s Time to Wake Up

We all know the drill. The alarm goes off and you know what it means. It may jar you at first, but you get the message.

Consider the message and the impact of an alarm the Lord has set for us.

“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,

and Christ shall give thee light.”— Eph. 5:14.

If there is anything to be learned from the COVID-19 crisis, it is that all of us need to listen to the alarm and awaken from our slumber.

If there is anything to be learned from the presence of Antifa and other Marxist, fascist groups looting, burning and killing on our streets, it is that we have work to do and we need to be at it.

If there is anything to be learned from the political upheaval, it is that the liberal open-borders policy has allowed the enemies of our country to slip in and embed themselves in strategic roles.

If there is anything to be learned from the shutdown of cities and states where tyrannical leaders have shuttered many churches, it is that freedom can disappear very quickly.

If there is anything to be learned from the provoked and orchestrated crash of the nation’s economy, it is that money can be plentiful one day and scarce the next.

If there is anything to be learned from the loss of so many lives, it is that life “is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (Jas. 4:14).

If there is anything to be learned from the trauma and the tragedies of 2020, it is that “other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 3:11).

Well, indeed, there is a lot to be learned. Hopefully we will figure it out, face it squarely, find our footing and “faith” our way through the maze of these difficulties.

When the Bible declares that “Christ shall give thee light” (Eph. 5:14), that puts perspective on the circumstances for us.

1. Light always overwhelms the darkness!

The darkness may be pervasive as the forces of evil run roughshod across the fruited plains. Satan has his foot soldiers attacking every segment of our society. They seem invincible and poised for victory until somebody turns the Light on. At the very moment the Light shines, the darkness is subdued.

2. The power source producing light is the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”—John 8:12. You may be in darkness right now, but you need not stay there. If you will come to Christ, acknowledge Him, believe Him, accept Him, trust Him, He will give you “the light of life.” Try as you may, you cannot find that “light” in anyone else. “Neither is there salvation in any other” (Acts 4:12).

3. The light and the darkness are incompatible!

It is a simple fact that light and darkness cannot coexist. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”—I Thess. 5:4, 5. The darkness can prevail only in places where the Light is not shining. If you turn the light on, the darkness will recede every time.

4. The children of Light must oppose the darkness.

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”—Eph. 5:11. Yes, we are ordered of the Lord to avoid “fellowship” with the darkness. Furthermore, we are to “reprove them.” It is our duty to keep our distance and at the same time speak up to expose their “unfruitful works.”

5. The light is a gift from the Lord to us.

“Christ shall give thee light.”—Vs. 14. Your money cannot buy it. Your works cannot produce it. Your influence cannot secure it. If you get the light you need for escaping the darkness, you will accept it as a free gift from the Lord Jesus.

6. The light will impact our way of life.

“But now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.”—Vs. 8. The walk you walk will be different when you embrace Him who is the Light of the World.

7. Now the Lord allows us to light the world.

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.”— Matt. 5:14. When the Lord went back to Heaven, He made us the keeper of the light. If the world, now engulfed in darkness, gets even a glimpse of the light, it will be because you and I do our duty.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”—Vs. 16.

So let’s wake up and rise up, receive the light the Lord provides (Eph. 5:14)

and then use that light to conquer the darkness in our towns.