16. January 2018

A Plea for Our Safety

The fog was thick as I drove to church services last Sunday, and I couldn’t see more than a hundred feet in front of me. Cars and stoplights seemed to materialize out of nowhere, so I drove slowly and looked for any lights cutting through the mist.

At what is usually a major intersection, the red light wasn’t much bigger than a bulb on a Christmas tree. I stopped in time, only to look in the rearview mirror and see a white SUV speeding toward the rear of my van. I pumped the brakes to signal my presence and shot up a quick prayer. Providentially, the SUV veered into the right turn lane and my heart rate returned to normal.

While the fog made driving difficult, there was another factor made my route a lot more dangerous: more than half the cars I saw – including the white SUV – had their headlights off.

As I tried to focus on driving safely around these cars, a spiritual analogy was emerging in the back of my mind.

You see, we’re all living in a foggy world. Christians and non-Christians alike are surrounded by darkness and confusion. But God has supplied His people with headlights to cut through the fog and illuminate the truth.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105, ESV)

I’m guessing this verse isn’t new to you. Most of us would readily say we believe it. But do we really?

On that foggy Sunday, I drove into the church parking lot around the same time as four other cars.

Half of them didn’t have their headlights on.

I wonder how many church attenders have forgotten to turn on their spiritual headlights. How many of us say we’re following Jesus but only read His Word once or twice a week? Are we following the real Jesus or are we following a figment of our imagination loosely based on religious traditions and a handful of Sunday school lessons?

You can use a flashlight as a paperweight or to thump somebody over the head, but it won’t help you see unless you turn it on. You can use a Bible as a paperweight or to thump somebody over the head, too, but it won’t help you see unless you read it.

It’s a dangerous situation for the church when we stop reading our Bible. Maybe we’re relying on previous knowledge of the road. Maybe we think we’ll be protected as long as everybody else is using their headlights. Maybe we don’t realize how foggy our lives really are. Or maybe the headlights seem too complicated to turn on.

Whatever it is that’s keeping you from your Bible, address it. Ask for help. Re-organize your schedule. Remind yourself of the sweetness of God’s Word. Pray for God to give you a desire to read it.

Make it happen.

Please.

If you don’t, we’re all going to end up in a wreck.