We shake our heads at the news of another shooting. Innocent people killed because one of God’s creatures decided it was his responsibility to end the lives of others. I remember when it was still unusual to hear of these shootings, especially at schools, and my mother coming home from work and the first words out of her mouth, “There’s been another school shooting.” We know how close to home the horrors of war have come to us and we look across the world and see how one nation is rising up against another. Even in our own country, there is unrest: violence, political maneuverings, government corruption, government control, needless suffering.

And here we are, in the midst of all this. The cry goes up from the saints of God, “Lord, how long will it be? You can come back any moment and it would be just fine with us.” That prayer will be answered. And it’s a good prayer to have on our lips. Not because it means we can crawl inside of our little Christian bomb shelter of faith and escape the realities of this world. Actually, it’s just the opposite. That prayer screams with the urgency for Christians to live their faith, for Christians to be and look like the triumphant ones Christ has made them to be. So we do not sleep through all this hoping it will go away, but we awake to our triumph. We open our eyes to see ourselves not as victims of this crazy sin-filled world, but as the advocates of triumph, advocates of the victory Christ has won for us all. Awake to triumph because your name is written in God’s book of life. Awake to triumph because your faith receives its reward. Luke 10:20, "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven."