Get Up and Get Dressed

“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.” — Romans 13:11

Get Up & Get Dressed.

Does it sound familiar?

How many times, growing up, have you heard one of your parents, a grandparent, auntie, or someone who was caring for you say, Get Up and Get Dressed; it’s time to go.

It didn’t matter how late you had been up the night before nor how early in the morning it was; when these words were spoken, they were spoken with urgency.

What the person was implying is that “We’ve got somewhere to be, and we’ve got to get there at a specific time.”

Well, that same urgency is implied in Paul’s message here to the Church at Corinth.

When Paul starts speaking in verse 11, he tells the Church how they should put on the garment of Christ. Let’s take a closer look at his statement.

He begins by saying, “And doing this, meaning there is something in addition to this statement that you must also do.

“Knowing the time…”

Like the Sons of Issachar, the Corinthians were cautioned to know the time they were living in. Here, the word time means “Kairos,” — which is God’s appointed time, set time, or season.

Just as Paul warned the Corinthians to know what time they were living in; the Spirit of God is warning us to recognize the time we are living in. The signs we are seeing today point to the Messiah’s coming into His Kingdom. We’re witnessing deception, wars, rumors of wars, pestilences, earthquakes, offenses, hatred, lawlessness, and so much more.

Now is high time for the Church — The “Ekklesia” — to awaken from her sleep. Because as Paul said, “… our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (v. 11, NKJV).

Paul urged the Corinthians not to linger and wait until the very last minute (v. 13, MSG).

You know how we can sometimes do — hitting the snooze button until the very last minute, jumping up in a hurry, rushing through the house, trying to get ready, and getting out the door. Or, puttering around in the house, thinking we have plenty of time, and before we know it, we’ve wasted 20 or 30 minutes doing nothing.

As Believers, we can’t afford to waste a minute; we must not squander these precious daylight hours (v. 13, MSG) because the night is coming when no one can work (John 9:4).

We’ve got to Get Up and Get Dressed, putting on the armor of light.

How do we do that, you may be asking?

• We live by faith in God, studying His Word and reflecting Him in our actions.
• We don’t make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh.
• We identify with Christ by being baptized.
• We exemplify the qualities Jesus showed while He was here on earth: love, humility, truth, and service.

I say to you today: Creation eagerly awaits the revelation of God’s sons and daughters (Romans 8:19). God has assigned someone to you, and you hold the key to their salvation in your hands.

Get Up & Get Dressed and be up and about.

Join me next time for Coffee on The Couch.