Warning Signs
He knew it was coming because it was green…and it made his pulse pound in his chest.
He grew up smack in the center of tornado alley. When the sirens would go off in their small town, every kid on their block would run outside and look to the skies. The churning brew above would light up with streaks of lightning. Deep rumbles of thunder would make the windows rattle. But when the sky turned an eerie green color, all the kids knew that was the real sign something big was coming.
The sky was green now.
“Babe! Get the kids and go to the storm shelter! I’ll grab Tiger and Finn and meet you there!”
He ran to the den where the dog crates were and grabbed both leashes. Snapping them on the collars of both dogs he headed out the back door. When he stepped outside, the backyard was empty. His wife and his children were not at the storm shelter. Did Kate not hear him? She was standing right there in the kitchen.
“Kate! Katie!! Hallie! Nathan! Where are you?”
His wife came out the back door wiping her hands on a dish towel.
“Ryan, what is going on? Why are you like this? I don’t get it. It’s just rain.”
She didn’t know. She grew up in California.
“Kate. It’s been all over the news. They’ve been warning us of the possibility of severe weather. Right? Plus, look at the sky. It’s green. That’s a clear sign something big is coming. We need to get our children and get in the storm shelter. Please.”
He could see the skepticism on her face. She thought it was just another rain storm to ride out in the house. But he knew differently. He knew the signs.
She was just about to say something when the sudden shriek of a siren sounded throughout the neighborhood around them.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
Hebrews 12:1
There are all kinds of warning signs.
All you have to do is drive down any major interstate and there they are: “road work ahead”, “detour”, “be prepared to stop”, “slow – work zone”, “road closed”. There are warnings about the weather; tornado watches and warnings, thunderstorm warnings, flood warnings, heat index warnings and freeze warnings. And what about our health? Do you know the warning signs for a heart attack? Depression? Eye problems, or signs of a stroke?
What would happen if you didn’t pay attention to the “road closed” sign? Or maybe the warning signs of an oncoming heart attack? Either one could cost you your life.
Are there any warnings you’ve tuned out? Ones you’ve heard so often you don’t pay attention to them anymore? Like that speed limit sign with the flags on it? Or the tornado or thunderstorm watches that scroll across the bottom of your TV screen. Do you get annoyed every time the weatherman breaks into your favorite TV show just to update you on a storm 20 miles away that has now moved one mile closer? What does it take to make us take warning signs seriously?
Do you think of sin the same way?
Is there something in your life that you are not taking seriously in reference to sin?
We humans tend to put our sins into categories. Some sins are unacceptable, some…well, some can be overlooked, can’t they? Is it your goal not to sin? Or, as author Jerry Bridges says, “just not to sin very much?” We need to take sin seriously because God takes His reputation seriously.
In his book, The Pursuit of Holiness he also says, “…every time we sin, we are doing something God hates. He hates our lustful thoughts, our pride and jealousy, our outbursts of temper, and our rationalization that the end justifies the means. We need to be gripped by the fact that God hates all these things. We become so accustomed to our sins we sometimes lapse into a state of peaceful coexistence with them, but God never ceases to hate them…God’s judgement is without partiality. He never overlooks our sin. He never decides not to bother, since the sin is only a small one.”
My friends, we have to take our sin seriously if transformation is to occur. And we must be willing to get rid of anything and everything that would get in the way of our pursuit of holiness.
We cannot, must not, make a mockery of God’s name like that. Our life is supposed to be represented by spiritual sacrifices…laying ourselves down for the sake of others. God builds us up so that we will be strong in Him, so that we will represent Him well. But how can we represent Him well, if we live a double standard?
We can’t become comfortable in our sin. Because all of it grieves the heart of our Father. We cannot tune it out and not heed the warning signs that are flashing right in front of us, or the sirens that are screaming in our ears. Let the Father bring you back in…back into the safe place.
His will.
His arms.
Dear Father! May I never become comfortable in my sin! Lord, I confess my sin to you. Thank you for forgiving me! Help me to heed the warning signs and rid myself of everything that gets in the way of my pursuit of holiness. Amen.
