Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
It was not about drowsy bodies or even drowsy minds that the Lord warned his disciple. It was about drowsy hearts. The heart is the place of moral decision making. Our heart is where we are alone with the voice of our conscience. The body may naturally get tired. The mind might wander even when one really tries to keep attention constant. But it is the heart that must be protected at all costs from becoming drowsy.
from carousing and drunkenness
Carousing and drunkenness make our hearts heavy and slow, more and more susceptible to facsimiles to the good for which we were made. They make us less able to care about the things that actually matter. They diminish our ability to love God and neighbor. They make us more likely to continue placing our own pleasure above the good of others.
and the anxieties of daily life,
If we try to bear the anxieties of daily life on our own without help from Jesus these anxieties will wear us down. Their quantity and our powerlessness in the face of them cannot help but dull our hearts eventually. Even if we start off as idealistic crusaders for causes which are genuinely good the uncaring world we encounter, our own ability to succeed perfectly and permanently, will eventually wear us down.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
We must protect our hearts from anything that will diminish our ability to love. Yet we live in a world that seems designed to wear down our freedom to love. We must not try to find the strength we need on our own. If we try to simply steel ourselves, to double down on our resolve to do the right and seek the good, we will find our strength less and less sufficient as the days go by. Instead we must pray for the strength.
the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
We need strength, not just to face trials head on, but even to escape from those trials which are not meant for us. For a heart, running away can be a matter of indifference and self-protection. This kind of running is the mark of a heart that is drowsy. But running away from tribulations can sometimes be motivated by a desire to keep our hearts free and unchained, able to respond to Jesus in the specific ways he invites each of us as individuals to live lives of love. As long as our means are chosen appropriately for this end our hearts will be in good shape.
and to stand before the Son of Man.
When our hearts are awake it is more than simply moral freedom that we possess. It is more than an ability to follow the right rules at the right time, though this is included and indeed only possible to hearts that are awake. Awakened hearts are able to respond to the presence, not only of this or that good, but of Goodness Himself when he reveals himself to us in our own lives.
“Behold, I am coming soon.”
The Lord himself is the source of light and endless day. He is the one from whom life-giving waters flow. Only in him can hearts be healed so as to be made strong. Only around his throne will we have a light so pure and perfect that we no longer have any desire to sleep or turn away. Let us fix our hearts on the promise of that place.
Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun,
for the Lord God shall give them light,
and they shall reign forever and ever.
Chris Tomlin - Awake My Soul (different song)
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