1 Thessalonians 5:5-11

For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 

As I read through the passage above, I thought about Jesus’ words to his disciples: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5: 14).

As a light in the world, we are charged with a responsibility to shine the love of Christ in dark places and Paul reminds us of the importance to stay awake and walk as children of the day and “put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”

What is the result of walking in the light?

• In a world of darkness, we are to stay wide awake and alert (v 5-7).
• We look forward to Salvation through Christ (v 9).
• Our walk encourages the walk of others (v 11).

There are days when we may feel a bit discouraged. It may feel like darkness is creeping in, but we do not depend on our feelings, do we? We believe in and act upon God’s promises so that “whether we are awake or asleep (dead) we might live with him and the “Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:35).