Wiser and Happier: Devotions From Time of GraceSample

Waking Up: Remember what you were

There are some bad boys out there who have forgotten about their quadruple bypass operation and are eating fat-fried food again. There are some bad girls who have forgotten about their emphysema and have started smoking again. There are some reckless diabetics who are careless with their insulin injections. Such people apparently have lost their fear of--and respect for--their disease.

A real danger for people who have been Christians for a while is that they grow sleepy and careless in their security. They forget who they were and where they came from. They have lost their shock and awe at the fearful wrath of God on all evil. “The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked” (Proverbs 3:33).

We all need to remember the terrible punishment that our Savior Jesus Christ absorbed for our sake on the cross. We all need to re-appreciate how expensive the forgiveness is that He bought for us there. We all need to respect and fear our enemy from hell. We all need to reaffirm our gratitude for the Word and sacrament that bond us to Christ now and forever. Lord, wake us.