Look Out – Get Those Eyes Open!
This morning as I drove along the highway coming to the office, my eyes would hardly stay open. Once I completely pulled off the side of the road and went through a little routine to wake myself up. I was really having a struggle trying to stay awake. That’s spooky!
Before you say it, I will, I don’t get enough sleep anyway, Okay? But, it was complicated today by the fact that I took two Tylenol PM’s before going to sleep last night. That stuff is rough! I’m still sleepy. I just hope it wears off after a while.
I guess if you are going to do something stupid like driving while you are that sleepy, you should learn something from it. When I left the house it was still dark, and that makes it worse. I cranked up the old pick up and headed out on the thirty mile run. Before I got as far as the main highway my head was bobbing like a child bobbing for apples. My reflexes were slow… my mind was asleep, and the only thoughts were to get to work.
Just after I passed through Hosston I began to formulate a plan. I would stop at Belcher and get me a coke out of the coke machine at the service station on the highway. I finally got there and someone had moved it to the inside of the station, so I continued to creep along, sometimes driving 55, and sometimes driving 35. The people behind me were obviously irritated. The closer they got, the more my eyes would squint from the close lights in the rear view mirror and the worse it got. I’m just glad I can’t read lips. Oh, they were “white-eyeing” me.
Finally, after a tremendous struggle, I hit North Market. Boy was I glad. I wheeled into the driveway at the building, got out of the truck and wanted to kiss the wet ground… but I resisted. Finally I had made it… and none too soon for me.
As I stepped in the office door, I immediately thought of what Paul said to the Ephesian church. “For it is light that makes everything visible, Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14). In the context, Paul is encouraging the church to be a people who walks in light, aware of what is going on around them.
Being sleepy and driving a vehicle is dangerous. It is dangerous not only to the driver, but also, to everyone else who is on the road. It is no different when we are on life’s highway. When we, as a Church, drag ourselves from one place to the other with our eyes closed and our heads bobbing, anything can happen. We can destroy ourselves as well as those around us.
All through the Scripture, God reminds us to be vigilant. “Keep watch.” Satan is alive and well. He is constantly looking for ways to subvert God’s people. He loves coming up behind us, riding our bumpers with his lights on bright making us squint. He loves it when our lives nod off into senseless slumber. When we go to sleep at the wheel, Satan can step in and drive. He loves it.
This is why God made the provision for the Church to have elders. They are often called “overseers,” and are told to “keep watch over the flock.” Their job is to help us stay awake, but, it is a shared responsibility. All of us are responsible for the others. We are a family, and we should “watch out” for each other.
I have little advice to offer anyone, but one thing I can say. “Don’t drive when you are sleepy.” But, there is better advice. “Do not go through life asleep at the wheel. Wake up! Be alert!”
Life is serious and our task is great. There is no time for us to spend our lives stuck in a ditch somewhere or dealing with the death of another brother we caused because we were not watching out for each other.
Let’s not be caught with our eyes closed. This church is growing and we need every eye open, searching for ways to serve. For the first time in a long time, we have another chance. The question is, what will we do with it?