Perhaps most of us have experienced the sudden panic of time getting away from us so that we find ourselves unprepared for an important event. Suddenly, we look at the time and realize we are running late. We hurriedly do our best to make preparation. When Jesus warned about the destruction of Jerusalem that would come forty years after His ministry on earth, He encouraged faithful endurance in the Christian life. His words are preserved for us in the Bible because in any age until heaven and earth pass away, Christians are to be on guard against allowing the sins of the world to distract them or dull their spiritual senses from vigilantly awaiting judgment. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly” (Luke 21:33, 34).

Life here is short (James 4:14). Life in heaven and punishment in hell are eternal (Matthew 25:46). We should be preparing for eternity by learning to love God in this short life rather than loving this transient world through indulging the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17).

We have spent enough of our time, no matter how short, in sin; we should spend the rest of our time in doing the will of God instead of continuing in the sins of drinking, sensuality, and idolatry (1 Peter 4:1-3). Consider the inspired apostle Paul’s portrayal of the Christian’s preparation for eternity: 

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Romans 13:11-14).

Verse 11 shows that it is time to know, time to awake, and time to be saved. Paul had to remind his converts time and again to wake up spiritually (Ephesians 5:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8). It is easy to fall into a spiritual stupor—going through the motions of religion and allowing the heart to be distracted by the world. If we’re spiritually asleep, we need to snap out of it because the darkness is passing away and the light of the eternal day is upon us (1 John 2:8).

Sins that accompany spiritual darkness are listed in Romans 13:13. Three pairs are given with the latter leading to the former. The first two pairs often go together; all four are plural words to describe many actions. Getting drunk leads to revelry and carousing. Lusts lead to lewdness and sexual promiscuity. In Roman society, a banquet feast would often devolve into drinking bouts and orgies. These ancient Roman festivals were predecessors of the modern Mardi Gras. Paul’s words would also be an apt description of the wild parties several young people flock to on their spring break. Romans 13:14 shows we should not make plans to participate in these sins.

The third pair—strife and envy—applied to the first-century congregation in Rome with the friction between the Jewish and Gentile segments. Today, pettiness plagues the Lord’s church when members become enamored with who gets the credit. A lot of good can be done if we would remove our prejudices, open our hearts to see where we are wrong, and love others. It is high time we do this. It is time to get up and put on our clothes for the eternal day—being clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ.                                                                         -Mark Day