Humans tend toward apathy. Bodies in motion constantly seek rest. Christ, however, directly admonished Peter to “watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh, the human aspect is weak. [i]
There are echoes of this type of statement throughout the New Testament. Peter himself reiterates it when he writes to believers telling them to be vigilant, for the devil roams around like a roaring lion looking for its next object of prey.[ii] It seems that Peter has taken this particular statement of Jesus to heart, as well as his statement in Luke 22:31 warning Peter that the devil wanted to sift him like wheat.
Clearly there is danger in relinquishing our guard, in losing sight of our goal in favor of sleep and rest. My pastor this morning made an interesting observation. If the apostles had a sense of how weak they truly were, would they have ever been off their guard? Had they known what would happen in a matter of hours as they snoozed in Gethsemane, would they have even been able to sleep?
You don’t hear it very often, at least I don’t, but there is a definite impetus in Scripture for believers to be self-reflective. Often this is in the context of searching our own hearts, looking for huge 2 X 4s in our eyes before pointing out the speck of dust that may be in the eyes of one of our Christian siblings.
[iii]
However we also see it in James, one of my very favorite books. When we observe out heart, as if in a mirror, we are to remember what we see, not immediately forgetting what manner of person we are. [iv] All the while we must realize that, as it states in I John 1:8, if we say we have no sin, we only deceive ourselves.
With that being said, why does it take so much for us to stay awake? It is taken for granted (slight pun intended) for Christians to be on fire one moment and gradually lose steam, not unlike the Israelites in the Old Testament. C.S. Lewis provides an analogy in The Silver Chair that has long resonated with me. Eustace and Jill are on their journey with the clear and important purpose of reaching Prince Rilian. Tired and hungry, the two spot some welcoming home where they can find respite. They have soon completely forgotten their purpose and have been consumed entirely by their hopes of a new-found comfort. However, they learn that this comfort is false and that they are in even more danger of being destroyed than had they continued on their way.Here we have here a false sense of security, an idea which John Piper in Don’t Waste Your Life expands upon greatly. Even when we think we are safe from danger, whether it be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, we are truly not. A long-standing pattern of the status quo lulls us into a deep apathy, creating a breeding ground for all sort of sin. These incidents cannot always be averted, but when the trials come you can be better prepared for them.
So what is it in our nature that which allows us to so easily forget how weak we are? Humans must be constantly reminded, shocked out of apathy, to be lit on fire once again. After the adrenaline rush, do we burn out? Is the rest necessary because if we were to constantly function at that level we might fall over dead? Or perhaps, we need to develop a sort of ninja-like sentinel ability to keep our eyes open, even as we rest.
impressive!
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