There is a feature that is installed by the manufacturer, on every vehicle that is made. It matters not if it is a Cadillac or a Toyota Prius such as I drive. We may not like it. It may annoy us. It may even make us uneasy at times. But it is there for a purpose. It’s not a notable feature, but it is a necessary one. It is the low fuel light. Just a small little dot on the dashboard, but it is so crucial to our future driving needs.
The same is true in our bedroom. There is a device that we all have at one time or another been upset with. It causes us to lose sleep. It scares us. It is annoying. None the less, it will faithfully serve us. Our alarm clock, whether it is on our phone, on our nightstand, or elsewhere serves a purpose that is crucial to our successful day.
If we were to list the top ten things that we like in life, we would probably not include warning lights on our vehicle or alarm clocks. Why? I think that it is because they serve as forcing functions for us, and they make us do that which we would rather put off. Just drive a little further… just sleep a little longer… But when they flash and light up and buzz or begin playing music we can no longer accept things as they are, they make us act. And that is where the problem lies.
I’ve found the Bible to be much the same. There are truths that I come across that force me to act. There are lessons that I discover, that make me adjust my course in life. When I read the words of Jesus, I cannot help but assess myself in the light of His teaching.
I wonder sometimes if it would make a difference if there were to be lights that flash that we could see and that others could see as well, which would give us warnings. Can you imagine a light flashing “check your attitude” coming on when we are speaking to someone that we don’t see eye to eye with? Can you imagine a warning of “check your spirit to be sure it is like Christ’s” flashing when we lash out in frustration at another? How about “examine your prayer life” or a sign blinking “low on grace” proclaiming to you and to the world that your cup is running a bit dry?
We might chuckle at the thought of that, or we may cringe. We should be concerned though. Concerned because, although we may not see that warning in a visible way, we are aware. We may attempt to hide it, but we know when we are becoming bitter. We may wish to believe that we are right, and the world is wrong, but we know when the carnal nature is rearing its ugly head in our life. The warnings are there, but what are we doing with them?
We are allowed to choose. Just like with the alarm clock and low fuel light, we can continue on and ignore them. I’ve found that in the church we usually start whispering to others, we start sharing our frustrations with those we have no business sharing them with, we begin gossip campaigns. We even blame the pastor. I’ve heard it all: he doesn’t care for the elderly, he dislikes the children, he is all about himself, he doesn’t visit, he doesn’t preach the truth, he accepts sin, and the list can go on and on and on. It’s the same with others. We find every flaw and speck that can be found in others, while forgetting the sins of our own life that we were saved from. The blanket is pulled back over our head, the light is ignored, and we push forward with our agenda, and we believe that we have the corner on spirituality. Wounding others, misrepresenting Christ, and failing to be the example that our family, our community, and the world so desperately needs.
But God knows. God knows not just the smile that we place upon our face when we attempt to convince others, and He knows the bitter heart that the smile is attempting to cover. He knows not just the pious words that we speak, but He also knows the jealousy and anguish that simmers behind them. He sees our beautiful outward facades, but He also knows the decay that lies at the very foundation of our being. Did I mention before, God knows? He knows you like no other.
Today He once again calls us to a life of transparency. Don’t be duplicitous in your daily living, you can’t serve two masters. It is all of Him or none of Him. If He is worth something, He is worth everything. Just having a knowledge of and a false profession of His saving grace is never enough. Stop ignoring the lights and stop pulling the blanket back over your head. Acknowledge the areas in your life that He is speaking to you about, make the corrections and the adjustments, and move forward with His blessing and abundance being evident in your life like never before. It really is that easy.
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