Read Revelation 3:2-3.
In these few short verses, there are no less than five imperatives given: wake up, strengthen, remember, keep, and repent. They kind of sound like a typical day – wake up, eat breakfast & exercise (well, maybe not this one), remember what I have to do today, do it, and then at the end of the day repent of the things I shouldn’t have or should have done! After a long day, we go back to sleep and start all over again. Of course, it was far more serious for the church at Sardis. They had fallen asleep on the job. They needed to recognize their emptiness. No doubt this message was their alarm clock.
How about you and me? I believe self-reflection and self-examination are a necessary part of waking up to the reality of what we are doing and who we are becoming. I’m not talking about self-absorption here, just a serious reflection of ourselves in light of our walks with Christ. Who are you becoming as you run your current course?
Then Jesus speaks of strengthening those things that remain. Usually when it comes to growing or getting stronger, we focus our attention on our weaknesses and on the things that are lacking. But here Jesus tells us to work on the things that remain. What little we may have, Jesus says get those things straight first. A company must bolster its bread and butter first or else anything new will have nothing to stand on. What things remain in your life that need to be strengthened or that are on the verge of dying?
And then remember… remember the things that are basic to our faith and life. Remember what matters most. How are you doing in the fundamentals areas of faith? How is the gospel present in your life? How is your love for God and others?
When we have remembered those basics and have gotten back to the things that really matter, then resolve to do something about it. Jesus says, “Keep it.” Don’t lose it by lack of use or by putting it off. Continue in it. Persist in the fundamentals.
And lastly, Jesus tells the church to repent. Here Jesus is reemphasizing the need for the church to stop what they are doing and do what He has just instructed them to do: wake up, strengthen, remember, and do it. This is really the thrust of all these commands to change what they are doing. And so we must ask ourselves, are there things that need to change in our lives? I want to encourage you to follow the same command today. If you have time, stop and consider your relationship with God. Do you need a wakeup call? Are there areas that need to be shored up? Does your life reflect the simple (but difficult) priorities of God?
(On a personal note, this is something I tend to do at the beginning of each year. But I am reminded that I should do this more often. It is not unusual to find at the end of the year that I am a little off track and need to make some adjustments. If I would simply examine my life and priorities a little more often, perhaps I wouldn’t get off track in the first place. I don’t know, maybe that’s a little ideal, but a little preventive maintenance has to better than none at all.)