Coaches always tell us to keep our heads in the game, our minds ready for action that is going to take place. The same is true for those who follow Christ. We need to be alert to what is about to come and prepared to react to it. We can’t roam aimlessly through life.
1 Peter 1:13
“Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Armed for Battle
There is a specific aspect of our walk with Christ that has a military feel. Soldiers in Christ’s army are trained to be prepared and ready for the spiritual warfare that comes their way. That doesn’t mean we seek it out but that our training is such that we can detect it when it presents itself. Readiness is being sober-minded. This has both a physical and spiritual aspect to it. First, physically we are to be sober. Drunkeness causes us to lose our capacity to function, and our awareness goes out the window. We stumble around, and our reflexes lose their sharpness. Second, spiritually when we aren’t sober, we lose our ability to be discerning. We quickly fall prey to subtle temptations. Thinking we are alert we stumble.
Boast in Our Weaknesses
As a soldier, we also need to put our hope in the grace that God has extended to us. Our faith isn’t in our abilities but in Jesus’ death on the cross, which has redeemed us. We boast in our weaknesses, not in our strength. What we have is by the grace of God. Our hope is in that he loved us in spite of our sinfulness and that he is coming back to get us. Be ready, sober, and grounded in the grace of Jesus Christ. We need to keep your minds ready for the action