Sleepwalking Christians

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” [Romans 13:11]

Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, is a troubling condition where individuals, mostly children, arise in a state of low consciousness and perform various activities normally performed while awake. These activities can be as harmless as sitting up in bed, walking to the bathroom, and cleaning, or as hazardous as driving, starting fires, walking in traffic, or cooking. The person’s eyes might be open but have a glassy “look right through you” expression. These sleepwalking episodes can last as little as 30 seconds or as long as 30 minutes.

In 2005, a 34-year-old computer expert was reportedly caught sleepwalking by his wife. He was mowing the lawn at 2 a.m. … naked. Rebekah Armstrong was awakened by a noise coming from the garden. When she realized her husband, Ian, was not in bed she went downstairs and looked outside to see what was happening. Rebekah found Ian was mowing the lawn in his birthday tuxedo. She was afraid to wake him up because she had heard it could be dangerous to disturb someone in a sleepwalking trance. So she just unplugged the electric mower, went back to bed and let him go through the motions. Later Ian came wandering back to bed. In the morning he didn’t believe Rebekah when she told him what he’d been up to. “It wasn’t until I told him to look at the soles of his feet that he finally believed me – they were filthy.”

Is it possible to be a sleepwalking Christian? I don’t mean physically getting out of bed and walking around in a state of unconsciousness. Can Christians be spiritually asleep, walking through life in a low state of awareness about the things of God? Absolutely! Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins describes a group (representing the church) who were awaiting the coming of the bridegroom (Jesus). Notice, “But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept” (Matthew 25:5).

Do you know what divides these sleeping saints into two different groups? Half of them, though slumbering, still had made preparations for the coming of the bridegroom. When the midnight cry was heard, part of the group had extra oil (representing the Holy Spirit) and were immediately ready to follow the wedding party. Are you making necessary preparations for Jesus’ soon coming?