Current Events Monday: While You Were Sleeping
Luis Balderas Garcia took the ride of his life yesterday, and he slept right through it.
After leaving an Austin club early Sunday morning, Garcia rightly refused to drive and decided to catch some shuteye in the bed of a pickup. During his snooze, a couple of would-be truck thieves hopped on board and stole the truck. It’s unclear if the truck thieves were joy-riding, but consider how shocking it must have been to look in the rearview mirror and see Garcia conked out in the back. The robbers ditched either the truck or Garcia (or both), as Garcia was located a few hours later in Round Rock after the APD received some concerning alerts about the incident (You can read the full story here: 22-year-old who fell asleep in truck bed before it was stolen from club found near Round Rock | KXAN Austin).
When we consider Garcia’s brush with disaster from a Christian perspective, our minds could land on some rather familiar teachings of Jesus. Our Lord spoke frequently about his concern for those of us reap chaos when we sow spiritual snoozing. The most famous biblical incident likely occurred when Jesus prayed his heart out in the Garden of Gethsemane while his best friends sawed logs (Mark 14:32-42). Jesus also criticized the infamous farmer who built bigger barns for his wealth so he could while away the hours with partying and sleepy living (Luke 12:13-21).
Jesus was pretty clear about his desire for us to be spiritually sober and mentally ready for unseen challenges. What are some ways we can responsibly avoid the plight of being caught napping?
First, consider that the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. We may often extol the virtues of our great thinking and mental acuity. The world even tells us, “You can do anything you set your mind to!” Jesus likens such worldly thinking to foolishness. We need a power which is beyond us to live fully and eternally. Only the leadership of the Holy Spirit can keep us awake and clear-headed for all the troubles that Satan throws at us. Submission to Christ in repentance and faith is the climactic action of one who desires to defeat spiritual sinking spells.
Second, remember that God’s grace is a source of power and strength when you feel weak and tired. Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). The way Paul tells it here, we can see how grace is simultaneously both power and pardon. Grace is the power to give all of one’s devotion to Christ instead of to the self, and God’s grace is also the pardon from sin and subsequently from death. When we think seriously about the profound impact of God’s grace in our lives because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, it feels like a splash of cold water on the face. Allow the Holy Spirit then to reinvigorate you and spur you on to walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6).