Caution: Proceed At Your Own Risk

It was indeed a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  Because of unseasonably warm temperatures, the recent snow had evaporated except in just a few patches here and there.  My family and I decided to enjoy the weather with a walk in the nearby nature center.  Even though the temperature was very comfortable (we even set a record high that day!), there was a small pond in the area that was still covered in ice.  We were surprised to see two college-aged young men walking across the frozen pond, while a friend of theirs watched from the safety of the bridge.  Now, I realize I'm not much of a risk-taker, but I really don't see myself walking across an iced-over pond.  The benefits just don't outweigh the risks for me.  Apparently, though, these guys saw something worthwhile in it.  As we laughingly watched the two men slowly and carefully shuffle across the ice, the inevitable happened.  Just as the other side was almost within reach, one of them called out "This is fun!" and promptly fell through the ice.

I'm sure King David understood how that young man felt.  David knew that what he was doing was sin.  But the heart wants what it wants, I'm told, and his - royal or not - was no exception.  When David saw the beautiful Bathsheba, he decided that, whether it was right or wrong, he was going to follow his heart.  Of course, once you start making excuses for sin, it's hard to stop.  David didn't stop with adultery.  As soon as the deed was done, he tried to cover it up.  It's not like no one knew about his acts - soldiers, guards, and I'm sure some attendants had discovered the deed.  But soon David even committed murder to keep himself from shame.  I guess David thought that the king was above the consequences of the law.  He was wrong.  There are always consequences (2 Samuel 11-12:23).

Now, there's nothing sinful about walking on ice.  I'm not saying the young men were doing wrong - they weren't.  They were just having fun and enjoying the warm temperatures.  But the similarities are still striking.

Just as the young man assumed he was safe, he felt the ice cold temperature of the water.  David must have thought he had missed any consequences - after all, Uriah was dead, Bathsheba was now legally David's wife, and everything seemed to be returning to normal.  Or so he thought.  Then Nathan the prophet showed up and condemned David's actions.  Soon David's infant son died.

There are always consequences.

That warm winter day, as soon as one of the men fell through the ice (it was barely more than knee deep), the other adventurer carefully hurried back to the safety of the shore.  When one man suffers the consequences of his sins, any one plotting with him is sufficiently warned and sometimes chooses to leave their ways.  As the very wet young man crawled onto the bank of the small pond, none of the onlookers (including his friend on the bridge) felt tempted to follow his example.  When a man falls into the consequences of his sin, everyone around him sees his actions for what they are - sin.  It doesn't look as tempting when we see the consequences that come with it.

Be sure your sin - and its consequences - will find you out (see Numbers 32:23).  There's just one thin layer between you and the icy water.  Later, as my family and I continued on our walk, we passed the three young men we had seen earlier.  "We are good," the now-drying young man assured us.  And he was.  We all are once we get off the pond.

Photo Credit: markuso from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

None to Spare

"Time is so short, and the work which we have to do in it is so great, that we have none of it to spare...

"...The time of youth is precious, on many accounts. Therefore, if you be in the enjoyment of this time, take heed that you improve it. Let not the precious days and years of youth slip away without improvement. A time of the strivings of God’s Spirit is more precious than other time. Then God is near; and we are directed, in Isa. 55:6, “To seek the Lord while he may be found, and to call upon him while he is near.” Such especially is an accepted time, and a day of salvation: 2 Cor. 6:2, “I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in a day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation...”

Jonathan Edwards, "The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming It"

Will You Be My Valentine?

Americans spend over 14 billion dollars on Valentine's Day gifts every year.  That's a lot of money!  People all over America are buying gifts for friends, family - and the very special people in their lives.  Certainly a lot of attention is given to the holiday celebrating love.

The world would give all kinds of definitions if you asked what "love" is.  But only the Bible has the solid meaning of real love.  "By this we know love," the apostle John wrote, "that he [Jesus Christ] laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers" (1 John 3:16).  Author, speaker, and apologist Voddie Baucham has written a definition of love drawn from biblical principles: "Love is an act of the will, accompanied by emotion, that leads to action on behalf of its object" (Baucham, Family Driven Faith).  An act of the will.  Love is more than a passing feeling.  While certainly there are times where we may feel full of love for those around us, more often than not, choosing to love someone will be just that - a choice, a decision made regardless of our feelings.  Love means choosing to put someone else's needs before your own - even when you don't feel like it.  This selfless love goes against the grain in our self-saturated culture.

Most groups have a way to distinguish themselves from others.  Every nation's military, and even different military branches, have different uniforms to distinguish who they're fighting for and in what branch.  At games of every sport, fans are always present decked out in all kinds of crazy colors.  They can be identified at a glance as supporters of a certain team based on the color they're wearing.  Jesus told His disciples that Christians are distinguished from others as well.  "'By this all people will know that you are my disciples; if you have love for one another'" (John 13:35).  Wow!  We will be known by the way we love.  Do we love only when we feel like it?  Or, as Jesus posed the question to His disciples, '"If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them'" (Luke 6:32).  Just returning love to those who love us us isn't enough.  As Christians, we must go further.  Jesus told His disciples what the standard is for those who follow Him.  '"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.  Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful'" (Luke 6:35-36).  The Bible tells us that God IS love (see 1 John 4:8), so, as His followers, love must be a characterization of our lives as well.  Everything Jesus did on earth was in love; He served, taught, and died for us.  This is our example for loving others.

The most often-quoted verse in the Bible is John 3:16: '"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.'"  God loved the world.  But He didn't send a box of candy hearts (although those have their place).  Instead, He sent His Son: a sacrifice, a gift - a decision to love, even when no one deserved that from Him.  Valentine's Day is about love.  Loving even when we don't feel like it.  Loving even when it means sacrifice.  Loving those who don't love us back.  Because that's what love is - '"just as I have love you" (John 13:34).

Photo Credit: Sura Nualpradid from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Calvary Love in the Home

"If I am inconsiderate about the comfort of others,

or their feelings,

or even of their little weaknesses;

if I am careless about their little hurts and miss opportunities to smooth their way;

if I make the sweet running of household wheels more difficult to accomplish,

then I know nothing of Calvary love."

-Amy Carmichael, lifelong missionary to India

Small Beginnings

It's hard to overestimate the magnitude of the Pilgrims and their act of obedience to God.  By leaving everything they ever knew (except their faith), they faced many unknowns, separation from loved ones, danger, and death.  All of this they risked in order to make God known in the New World.  How would our lives be different today if not for their faith and sacrifice?  They set a precedent - a standard - for generations to come.  They formed the beginning of the American greatness, a heritage that has inspired and encouraged many.


We all want to do great things.  We want to make a difference, change the world.  Often, we hear stories of people who make the news.  We read stories of people who make history, wondering where our name could fit in to the big picture.


No doubt about it, leaving your home and starting a new colony is a big thing.  But doing "something big" is not what the Pilgrims set out to do.  William Bradford, a leader in the group, wrote about why the Pilgrims chose to come to America.  After listing a number of reasons, he said,

"Last and not least, they cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations, or at least of making some way towards it, for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work...Thus out of small beginnings greater things have grown by His hand Who made all things out of nothing, and gives being to all things that are; and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light enkindled here has shone to many, yea, in a sense, to our whole nation; let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise" (Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, emphases added).

Yes, the Pilgrims did a big thing and landed in the history books.  But that wasn't their aim.  And don't forget their sacrifice.  Don't forget the dozens who died long before the dream came to pass.  None of them saw the formation of America, which was the ultimate realization of their dream.  The Pilgrims knew that their obedience was only the beginning of the story, and they were willing to be merely the first step toward great things.


In the Old Testament book of Zechariah, the Israelites were beginning to rebuild the temple after returning to their country from exile.  Some remembered the former temple, the one Solomon built.  Solomon's temple had been a grand temple before it was destroyed when the Israelites were defeated.  The new temple was not nearly as exquisite, and many were downhearted during the building of the temple as they remembered its former glory.  But God encouraged them with a promise.  "'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.  For who has despised the day of small things?'" (Zechariah 4:9-10a).  The day of small things.  Yes, the new temple started out small, and wasn't as materially great as the one before it.  Some Israelites truly despised that day of small things.  But God promised to work in His temple, and the day of small things would lead to more than they could imagine.


God doesn't call us to success but to obedience.  The Pilgrims understood that - and left the results up to God.  Who has despised the day of small things?  I know I have.  But no more.  For God is at work in the small things, and you just never know what your stepping stone will lead to.

"Though the beginnings be small, God can make the latter end greatly to increase; a grain of mustard-seed may become a great tree. Let not the dawning light be despised, for it will shine more and more to the perfect day. The day of small things is the day of precious things, and will be the day of great things."

Matthew Henry, commenting on Zechariah 4 

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