Christianity - I could do it in my sleep!!!

Being a Christian is so easy now.
I remember those times at school when it felt such a battle just to keep going. When it felt like everyone just thought I was weird and I could never be cool and a Christian. That was difficult.

I remember those times at University. Those times when church felt like a hassle and it felt hard just to keep focussed and keep living it. That was difficult too.

But now, now is not difficult. Now is easy. No-one really minds all that much if I'm a Christian or not. In fact it gives them something to talk about. Now I'm part of a church who love Jesus and want to live for him. Now I have a wife and children and too much to fill my time with and being a Christian only helps all of that. Being a Christian is so easy I could do it in my sleep.

The problem is that actually for the Christian sleep is one of the great enemies. In fact I reckon it's much more deadly than opposition or difficulties.

In Mark 13 Jesus gives this warning...
'Therefore stay awake - for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning - lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.'

You see the problem is Christianity can become routine. It can become part of what we do and life can bit by bit take it over. After all God can at times feel distant and other things much more pressing. Christianity can feel a unimportant after all as long as I still basically believe it then what can go wrong?

Jesus' answer to this is a lot. The great enemy for so many Christians is not that they suddenly stop believing. It's not that they fall into some massive temptation. It's not that they get defeated by some argument it's just that it becomes routine. It becomes less exciting and slowly but surely they fall asleep. They stop pursuing God, stop seeking growth, stop loving to serve, stop loving God's people the church and over a period of time they end up nowhere.  Jesus says beware of this. Beware of falling asleep because God is very real and who knows when he is coming back or calling you home.

Christianity - I could do it in my sleep.
Jesus says no you can't.