2Pe 1:13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
2Pe 3:1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
Always in rememberance; stirring up your minds; by way of rememberance: in these phrases, Peter is trying to reach out and excite and arouse us to a vibrant relationship with our living Lord, and to a lively and abundant exercise of grace, by reminding us of our Lord and the prophets -- their lives, their sufferings, their words -- for he knew how easily the fires tend to be stoked into a sense of normality, and we lose the vibrance of our relationship with God. Even mature saints, who are certainly not immune, can begin to turn slugish, and even slothful, and the quality of our faith can turn from awesome to merely familiar.
The peril suggested by the Apostle is that of an insidious slumber. Those who he was writing to were not inclined to any deliberate revolt from the Truth. They were not considering any act of open and avowed heresy. They were in no immediate danger of consciously allying themselves with the evil one. The peril was of another kind. They were in danger of almost unconsciously dropping their enthusiasm, of losing the keenness -- the razor's edge -- of their faith, and of sliding gently into a perilous, even fatal sleep. The Apostle therefore seeks to “stir them up,” to keep them awake, to preserve their vivid apprehension of Truth and their sense of the majesty and the grace of Christ. For he knew only too well, that this perilous sleep can subtly and silently encroach upon the believer. It is the sleep, the slumber, that turns vitality into malaise; and quenches the boiling fires down to luke-warm.
He speaks of a kind of sleep that can begin in an over-familiarity with the truth. That which once startled us may ultimately minister to a deeper slumber. The midnight train that woke me every night when I first moved in; now rocks me to sleep with its low rythmic rumbles -- the alarm clock which is supposed to startle me awake; sometimes becomes a part of the dream and sends me into a deeper sleep -- Love, without stimulation, soon loses its edge, and begins to dull. I don't know about you, but looking wistfully at the grandeur of the night sky often sends me into a kind of slumber, because it has no force of thought or will behind it, it is simply unattended thought. The point that I am trying to make, my friends, is that unwilled, thoughtless observation is soon satisfied, and goes to sleep; missing the obvious right before its eyes. Vibrant, active observation, on the other hand, a vision with intensity and thought behind it, is full of discernment, and is continually making discoveries which keeps the mind alert and interested. Get a dedicated will behind the eye, and the eye becomes a searchlight, and the familiar is made to disclose undreamed of treasures.
The same things, my friends, apply equally to our walk of faith. Here in the Word of God we have pictures of the life and death of Christ, revelations of His heart and disclosures of His love. We may become so familiar with them that our attention goes to sleep. There are no further unveilings, no novelties, nothing unexpected, and the familiar vision ceases to attract our attention. What do we need? We need to “stir up the mind,” to put some force behind it, to direct it in a strong, fresh, eager inquisitiveness. We need to put it into the attitude of “asking,” “seeking,” “knocking,” and the familiar presence will reveal itself in unexpected and marvelous ways. The familiar puts on wonderful robes, my friends, when approached with a fervent inspection. Truth makes winsome, and majestic revelations to her devoted wooers. Every day the ardent lover makes a new discovery. If men would come to the familiar pages of God’s Word with the energy, or mental alertness anywhere near to that which they bring to a football game, they would see glorious surprises, which would make the heart buoyant and glad. The Word of God promises its wealth to the wakeful. There is no book, or writings, anywhere that has more to say about unfolding, revealing, manifesting, showing, or declaring, and the only condition is that the seeker, the reader of the promise should be an ardent, willful seeker; stirring up his mind in an eager and determined quest.
The Word also talks to us often of a slumber that comes from success and contentment. When difficulties appear to have vanished from our life, we can begin to lose contact with our Heavenly Provider because we think that we can handle things now -- we no longer need His help. Thus our faith can nod-off, so to speak, from a communion to an mere acquaintance. When there is no lion in our path, no dragons left to slay, my friends, we desparately need to stir our spirits to make certain that we are still near to Him, our first love.
And we have all seen the sleep that comes by failure. When repeated rejection and disappointment crowns all our efforts, when the “wet blanket” is thrown over all our hopes and relationships, the fire in the soul can be damped, and enthusiasm often starts to wane. The Apostle knew that disappointment would confront us, that cold water would be thrown upon our enthusiasm. That is why he pleads with us -- not once, but twice in this small letter -- to stir up the gift that is in us; stir it into flame! Keep thy first love vibrant and vigorous. Feed you fires, my friends, feed your fires in His Word and on your knees in His presence. That is the only cure, my friends, to be vibrant and alive, we must be vigilant in stiring-up the fires with constant and renewed knocking, asking, seeking, and believing.
“Watch therefore . . .(and stir regularly) ... lest, coming suddenly, He find you sleeping.”
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