THE WARNING

We were spending a week at a condo in south Florida.  I headed for the pool one warm afternoon and met a neighbor on the way.  When she saw me, she walked over, in her bare feet, to have a chat.  I never felt comfortable walking barefooted in the grass in Florida because of pigmy rattlesnakes, which are very small, but have as dangerously poisonous a bite as the full grown variety. My neighbor either didn’t know this or wasn’t worried about it as she strode across the grass to where I was.

The curious thing was that very near us were two other women having their own conversation.  They didn’t say a word to us, but their body language said volumes.  They looked at my neighbor’s feet, they looked at my neighbor, they looked at the grass, then back at my neighbor, and then at each other, raising their eyes as if to say that they knew something she didn’t.  Their looks made me look in the grass too, expecting to see a snake.  I didn’t see one, they never said a word, and my friend and I had our chat while they walked away.

It made me think.  Why didn’t they warn her if they had seen something?  Maybe they had seen a snake emerge from the ground at that spot before.  Maybe they had, or heard someone else tell, of an encounter with a snake in the grass.  With or without the actual appearance of a snake, why didn’t they just say, “You know, you might want to put shoes on because snakes can be found in this grass?”

During this time of covid, riots in cities, political tensions, and issues that threaten to divide us as a nation, we’ve certainly had lots of time to think, haven’t we? In addition to thinking about this long ago “snakes in the grass” incident, I know I’ve come to appreciate to a much deeper degree the value of my family.  I’ve always loved them and longed to spend time with them, but this year the desire to see them in person and hug the dickens out of them, ranks so much higher.  I miss them!

With so little else to distract, the importance of cultivating my relationship with Jesus, focusing on His Word, and praying for others, especially those I can no longer regularly see and love on, has taken on new priority.  I’ve thought a lot about Romans 8:28 this past year, the verse we Christians quote so often as our favorite:

All things work together for the good, to them that love God and are called according to His purpose

I’m grateful for covid isolation. It has narrowed my priorities to the truly critical ones.

There is something else all of the tensions of the last year have done for me.  They have filled me with a sense that the coming of Jesus is much nearer than I’d ever thought before.  

Yet, I can act a lot like those women who acted suspicious when my neighbor went outside without her shoes. I see the danger for all of those apart from Christ, but I give no warning. 

I know many people, some our own dearly loved family members, who don’t know Jesus.  Maybe you do too.  Maybe you are one of those who don’t know Jesus.  Maybe you think that you’re basically a good person, or you’re at least not as bad as some people you know.  You might be surprised to read about the way God sees us apart from Jesus. 

You can read about it in the New Testament book of Romans, chapter 3, verses 10-18 (which is a quote from the Psalms in the Old Testament).

There is none righteous, no, not one;

There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.

Their throat is an open tomb,

With their tongues they have practiced deceit.

The poison of asps is under their lips;

Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood;

Destruction and misery are in their ways;

And the way of peace they have not known.

There is no fear of God before their eyes.

That’s a pretty scathing condemnation, isn’t it?  But that is the condition of mankind, as God sees us, apart from Jesus.

That is really, really BAD news! 

But there is a good news as well. 

God, knowing the impossibility of our seeking Him on our own, the impossibility of our being good “enough” to satisfy His holiness and righteousness – provided a way for us to be right before Him. 

He sent His perfect Son to live the righteous life that was beyond mankind’s ability to live because of sin.  Jesus then, by the sacrifice of Himself, paid the due penalty for sin – an agonizing death on a cross, the penalty that should have been man’s – to satisfy God’s wrath against sin, enabling all who trust in Him to be forgiven.

Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father.  His righteousness transferred to the account of all those who trust Him, so that when God looks upon those who belong to Jesus, He no longer sees their sin, He sees them clothed in the righteous of His Son Jesus – they have been  made acceptable to God, counted righteous because of Jesus, and welcomed into His presence forever. 

So what does this have to do with potential snakes in the grass? The faces of those women who saw their neighbor walking in the grass without shoes, revealed their concern, but they gave no warning about potential danger from snakes.

Not wanting anyone to face danger without knowledge, I’m giving you this warning!

Jesus is going to return, but not as Savior from sin this time.  When He comes again it will be as Judge of all who rejected Him. Their destiny is not a snake bite they might recover from.  Their destiny will be separation from God and eternal punishment. 

I don’t want that for anyone – and what’s even more important – God doesn’t want that for anyone either.  The New Testament book of 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 9 says this:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise (of His return), as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Did you see that?  God is NOT willing that we should perish, die without Jesus and be separated from Him forever!  He wants us to repent of our sin, trust Jesus, and be saved from sin’s death penalty.

We have no idea when Jesus will return except that it will be unexpected and sudden.  Today is still the day to agree with God on His estimation of you – as a sinner in need of repentance and forgiveness.  Tell Jesus that you believe His death paid the penalty for your sin and that you believe it also made possible your complete forgiveness. Rejoice to be clothed in His righteousness, ensuring your acceptance into God’s forever family.  And start reading the New Testament of the Bible so that you might know Jesus better and begin living the new life He’s made possible for you.

Years ago I saw a news story about a man wandering through the woods around a lake.  It was winter.  Someone had posted signs on many of the trees that read:

WARNING: THIN ICE!!

It was daytime, the signs were large and the lettering easy to see.  There was no way anyone could miss them, and yet. . . . the man didn’t heed the warning.  He was well onto the body of the lake when the ice suddenly cracked, and he was plunged into the freezing water.  With no one there to rescue him, he drowned. 

It’s one thing to receive a warning and another to heed it.  What will you do?