For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.
Ephesians 5:8-14

We were reading John 5 in Bible Study this week, and I was overwhelmed by the love of Jesus for the pharisees. We typically just recognize his anger with them for misleading, and looking in the wrong place for salvation. In John 5 though, I recognized he sees the heart of a seeker in them. The pharisees SOUGHT ought the word of God- but when the WORD of God came down and stood in front of them, they were deaf to Him. I cry. He told them 'the time is coming, and has now come when the dead will hear to voice of the Son of God and will come to life.' (Totally just wrote that from memory- don't take it as exact word for word, but it's close). He was calling them the dead- and told them to HEAR... Like 4 times in that chapter Jesus begins his sentence "Truly, truly..." Do you hear His pleading with them?

How heartbreaking to know that what they longed for, what they searched for...was right before their eyes and all they had to do is believe.

Oh God- let me search, and let me see when the answer stands in front of me. When you speak, always let me hear. Don't allow me to harden my heart-- OH GOD, soften my heart!

"Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart"- that verse used to frighten me. I was always afraid He'd ask me for something I wouldn't want to give. Today though, I hear something entirely different. To hear, means life. To harden your heart to His voice, means to remain in a dark sleep, to never know the life you were created for, to never taste light, to be forgotten by freedom.

Oh heart of mine,
Wake up, O Sleeper,
rise from the dead
That Christ will shine upon you!!
Find out what pleases the Lord,
and live as the child of light that you are.