And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. (Romans 13:11-14)
It sounds in this passage as though Paul was expecting Jesus to return very shortly. If he thought it would occur within his lifetime, he was obviously wrong. But I think he was right in his attitude. Jesus had said, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13). And even now, two thousand years later, that word hasn’t changed.
I don’t know when the world (or at least this era of the world) will end. But I know that within, at most, a few more decades, my world will end. And perhaps much sooner than that. It’s beyond stupid to live as though this life on earth were going to continue forever when I already know it will not. Even if I had never heard that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead, I would still know that I’m not immortal. My life is already more than half over (there’s almost no chance I’ll live to the age of 122). For all I know, today could be my last day. And in any case, it’s certain that the number of days I have left is less than it was when I first believed in Christ.
But I also know that this life, this world, is not all that there is for me. The fact that time is short, and getting shorter, does not imply that I should live it up now, while I still can, but rather that I should be doing everything I can to get ready for what is coming, because I know that the end of my life on earth is not the end of my life.
The attitude Paul expresses in this passage is not fear. This isn’t a dreadful warning of judgment, but a message of hope and expectation. I should “put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light,” not because I’m afraid that God will punish me, but so that I can be ready for the glorious kingdom that is coming soon. Because I’m using this life to practice for the life to come.
Living righteously, in loving communion with my Father and with all my brothers and sisters, is not something I was born knowing how to do. Or even wanting to do. Both the ability and the desire are gifts of God’s grace. But both the ability and the desire are also developed over time, through practice, as I learn how to live as a follower of Jesus. And that is what Paul is telling us in this passage. For me, and for each of us, the darkness is nearly over. The light is coming soon. It’s time to stop living as a child of darkness and start practicing how to live as a child of God.