Now, there are many ways in which those two phrases are not exact parallels, but there are so many ways in which they are. It seems helpful, in this Lenten Season, to look at the challenge to "Repent and believe" from as many angles as possible.
"Wake up and smell the coffee" implies that we have been slumbering and inattentive to the events around us. It implies that we haven't noticed something too important to ignore. There is also a statement of undetected and yet undeniable reality. Something is true, and yet we might have become oblivious to it.
"Repent and believe" is John's invitation to notice the thing that God is doing. Repent and believe was his way of calling out of slumber those who had become inattentive and non-responsive.
There are meanings to repent and believe not included in wake up and smell the coffee, but the parallels are worthy of our consideration. God is entering our world and our lives and begging us to no longer look upon his creation through the eyes of self-interest. God has turned the world right side up; putting distrust and hatred of others on the bottom - where it belongs.
"Wake up!" "Smell the coffee!" God is doing a wonderful thing in our midst. Don't fail to notice or become a participant.
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