I decided to stop sleepwalking through life.
As I read the following words in a self-improvement book last week, I was struck with a feeling of restlessness:
“Getting sick made me realize that I’ve been sleepwalking through my life. I’m awake for the first time and don’t want to fall back into numbness again.”
We’ve all heard some sort of variation of the popular question, “What would you do if you knew today was your last day to live?” There’s even a country song, “Live Like You Were Dying,” about a man’s adventures when he finds out he has a terminal illness. To be honest, I’ve never put much thought into those questions, nor have I allowed my response to alter the way I’m currently living.
Here’s why: if I knew today was my last day to live, I know exactly what I’d do first—round up a feast of all my favorite junk foods and go to town. (Peanut butter and ice cream, I’m coming for you.) I think a lot of other people’s answers would be similarly unproductive and unsustainable considering it’s highly unlikely today will truly be your last day.
Still, as Christians, we should live with a restlessness that time is fleeting, though not a restlessness that causes us to make rash, unhealthy decisions. “Sleepwalking through life” is a tragedy I am certainly guilty of, and it’s a tragedy that ignores a huge fact: Jesus is coming back, and it could be at any minute.
Routines and busyness are one of Satan’s greatest ploys to keep us from waking up and realizing that judgment day comes closer each day, whether we think about it or not.
So instead of pondering from a secular or selfish viewpoint what you’d do if today was your last day to live, consider how you’d live if you knew our Lord was coming back soon—tomorrow, next week, or next year.
In my quest to no longer sleepwalk through this incredibly blessed life that God gave me, here are four things that I'm committing to:
- Spend less time on social media and more time having real conversations with people
- Spend less money on myself and give more of it away
- Pray unceasingly for friends whose eternity seems unknown
- Stop making excuses for the people I know God has in my life for a reason, and finally talk to them about Jesus or finally invite them to church
My first conversation should be with the neighbors living on each side of our house. For two years I’ve lived next to people who, although they are incredibly kind, may be headed on the path to destruction despite living next door to me, a Christian. (Just putting that in writing brings shameful tears to my eyes.)
A few months ago I was privileged to meet author Bob Goff. If you could look up “on fire for the Lord” in the dictionary, I think you’d find Bob’s photo. It’s his mission to love people like crazy and to show them Jesus through his life, constantly. I came home and breathlessly told my husband, “Honey, Jesus is real, and he’s coming back! I don’t have time to clip coupons anymore! There’s work to do!” As silly and dramatic as my response seemed, Bob’s speech had helped me examine my life and discover I was sleepwalking. He also uncovered the joy of living alive.
Brothers and sisters of mine in this beautiful body of Christ, how will you change your life today knowing that Jesus is returning, maybe sooner than we think? We have a lot of incredible work to do—let’s get to it! Decide TODAY that you are not going to sleepwalk through life! Who's with me?
