Rouse yourselves and keep awake… – Revelation 3:2, Amplified Bible (AMP)

It is not all that hard to become disinterested in the work God has given us. Many Christians work and work and work until they become “burned out,” so they decide to take a break from the work, never to return. Others take their eyes off of The Lord and look to their own desires, and once they’ve done that, the work of God suffers, or is ignored completely. Whatever the reason(s), many of us have slipped into a state of spiritual sleep, and all of us are in danger of falling into spiritual slumber at some point during our time on Earth.

When we view our lives through human eyes, it is easy to consider ourselves “good Christians” even though our work for Christ is almost non-existent. We don’t engage in any horrific vice. We read the Bible and pray everyday. We are people of integrity. So, what’s the problem? The problem is that God doesn’t give out accolades for only behaving in a holy manner. If that was all that God wanted from us, then the Pharisees would have been His best friends. God expects not only holiness from us; He expects us to apply His love to the lives of others through evangelism, through discipleship, and through helping people bear burdens that are too heavy to bear alone. When we beg off of applying God’s love to others, then we need to understand that we are just like the members of the church of Sardis, to whom God said (Revelation 2:2-3a, AMP):

Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight. So call to mind the lessons you received and heard; continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent…

Though the lessons of Christ are many, God (through John) clearly identifies in 2 John 1:5 (AMP) the foundational lesson for all of God’s true children:

And now I beg you, lady (Cyria), not as if I were issuing a new charge (injunction or command), but [simply recalling to your mind] the one we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

Where work lacks, love lacks, so the first and greatest sin we need to repent of, when we lack work, is that we lack love. Ask God fervently to fill you with charity (true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us), and when He answers your prayer, you’ll find yourself not only serving God and others; you’ll find yourself wanting to serve them as well.

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