Asleep On The Job

It was an unusually quiet time in the normally bustling hallways and passageways of the city.  I don't know why, but very few people were to be found at a relatively early hour in the afternoon.  It was strange.


     That's when I passed the little shop at the right.  I couldn't help but smile when I peered in on this little Arab man just a few days ago.  He was asleep.  I watched him for a while and couldn't resist.  I pulled out my camera and captured the moment.  Asleep on the job.


     I snapped a photo and watched him a bit longer.  Finally, I chuckled to myself and moved onward.  All around were shops that were open.  Some were attended and some were unattended.  But this one was the only one where the owner was simply asleep at the wheel.  He was oblivious to all that was happening around him.


     The humor of the situation fades a little when you think of the sales he might be missing.  What about the potential loss due to theft?  What about the fact that his neighbors might take advantage of him in his momentary stupor?  But still, you can't help but smile at the dreary man dozing in his chair.


     The trouble is, this poor fellow is not the only one asleep at the wheel.  He is not the only one dozing while he should be awake and alert.  We find ourselves living in desperate times.  Souls are lost all around us.  Men, women and children are dying without hope and heading into long eternity without end.  And those who are supposed to be "on the job" reaching them are like this little man.  Asleep.  


     "Asleep" speaks of many things.  It implies a dullness to what is happening around you.  It also suggests a blindness to all that is taking place.  And, unfortunately, it hints of being totally calm and relaxed regardless of what is transpiring nearby.


     I fear that we all are struggling with these and other nagging issues.  Believers in churches that you and I attend seem oftentimes to be totally relaxed while millions plunge into hopeless despair and destruction.  Are you "bothered" by the lost around you?  Does it pain you when you think of millions who have still never heard?


     Nepal's recent earthquake has killed more than 7,000 people at latest count.  Did that not grieve your heart?  Did you not become incensed by the pleas that arose for Hindu gods to "save them" from their tragedy?  No doubt they are searching for anyone to help them.  But sadly, most don't know of the true God and Savior Who is longing to deliver them.


     How many unsaved people did you meet today?  Did you not count them?  No?  Is that because you could not count them, or simply because you didn't even really see them?  We have become very skilled at navigating from our homes to our jobs, to our churches and schools, to WalMart and elsewhere without ever truly "seeing" those around us.  Our days become a blur, our lives so filled with activities that we have become blind to those around us. 


     Perhaps you do notice much of the lost around you.  But, is your heart so sleepy and your vision so clouded that you really aren't even aware of the magnitude of it all?  I've been asleep many times and when I awakened in the morning my wife has asked, "Did you hear how hard the rain fell last night?"  Sometimes, if I think carefully, it seems that, yes, faintly I recall some noise in the night. But, it was so faint and blurry in my mind that I could easily have never even recalled it had she not pressed me.  


     This is where so many are.  Sure, we're aware of the news.  We've heard of Ebola taking thousands into eternity.  We read of 250,000 dead in the Syrian civil war.  And, what was that...?  Was it 10, or 20, or was it 30 Egyptian Copts who were marched onto the Libyan seashore and beheaded?  Then that was followed by another number marched onto another seashore and beheaded or shot.  The tragedies are coming so fast and so often and we're losing track of them.  It's simpler to "grow sleepy" and fade out.  It seems easier if we don't think of it.  But it doesn't lessen the suffering and it doesn't  mean any fewer are perishing.  

     A couple of weeks ago I stood beside the Jordan River and watched as large groups of people were coming to be baptized in the river where Jesus was baptized.  There were Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals and Catholics there that day.  But my heart was drawn to the northern end of the crowd where men and women were clad in white.  I made my way there and sat down beside a dripping brother from Egypt.  As I talked to him it took only a moment to realize that he was not asleep!  He was wide awake and well aware of the pain and suffering going on around him, his people and his land.  Would to God that we would all awaken!

     A few days ago I saw a headline that offered great promise to many.  It said:  "7 Ways to Fall Asleep Faster".  Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to read it.  I thought, "We've managed to sleep through so much now, why would we want to fall asleep and miss any more?"  

     Are you alseep, my friend?  Are you only faintly aware of the tragedies that are unfolding around you every day?  Ephesians 5:14-17 has urgent warning for us all:  "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."

Woman receiving one of the Gospel

tracts in India.  Spiritual hunger is all around

if you look.

     And what is the will of the Lord?  The Scriptures share many facets of His will with us.  But let me just name one: The Lord is “…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” I Peter 3:9 Since it is clearly God’s will that all be saved, then you and I have an obligation to awaken, keep alert and be busy about winning souls.

     May God enlighten your eyes and allow you to see the lost all around you. 

Beyond Frontiers