One day, whilst on holiday, we drove into a remote part of our country. There were miles and miles of dry scrubland, semi-desert plains and forbidding mountains that stood vigil over the ghostly stillness of the region.
As we approached a turnoff to the 200 mile road that led towards the sea, we crossed a series of hazard bumps that had been drilled into the road surface. The car made a whining noise as it crossed the bumps, alerting us to what lay ahead. The road signs confirmed that a stop street lay ahead, but because it was so unexpected and rare in this forsaken region, the local authorities had put up a series of warning signs about the “STOP AHEAD”. That, in addition to the bumps in the road, provided adequate warning of what was coming.
I was so bemused by all of the signs that I lowered my window to look. I even roused my family from their sleepiness, to “look at all the signs”. Unfortunately, I was so busy watching the signs and ogling out of my window that we went straight through the actual stop street. My family roared with laughter and I imagined what the whole crazy scene probably looked like to someone watching from the roadside, someone like a cop that is.
As I drove on, I realized that sometimes in life we are so busy looking at the signs, that we miss the message or the point. Those who suffer declining health will acknowledge the signs but do nothing to prevent the inevitable disasters that lie ahead. Others may see very clear signs of a coming storm in their marriages or the lives of their children and yet deny the warnings until it is too late. Jesus pointed to the same phenomenon, when people asked for a sign: “You have the law and the prophets, listen to them”, He said on one occasion. Regarding His second coming, He said, “As you read the weather to tell when there is going to be a storm, so you will see the signs of my returning”.
God is unbelievably patient with people and nations, bringing judgment to fruition by small degrees. The changes in the world around us may seem almost imperceptible, but there is still compelling evidence that things are going wrong. God has even raised up people to warn us, people like Al Gore who warned of environmental disaster, James Dobson who cited many warnings about coming disasters in society and the family, and writers like Tim La Hay who interpreted the prophetic signs of our times.
Yet, we seem to have anaesthetized our culture into believing it will be okay. Unfortunately, as things have worsened the authorities have applied increasing controls and restraints on society, by degrees, to manage mob sentimentality and to keep us distracted from the real issues. It has succeeded in keeping us in denial and it has provoked our insecurities to elect leaders who are effective in exploiting our fears for their own gain.
God is almost shouting now. The angels have blown their trumpets and the heralds have declared their dire warnings. Is it not time for us to sit up and take things seriously? We are living in very heady times, but the signs are not for the amusement of passing tourists, they are there to warn us and to spare us of future disaster.
(c) Peter Eleazar at www.bethelstone.com
As we approached a turnoff to the 200 mile road that led towards the sea, we crossed a series of hazard bumps that had been drilled into the road surface. The car made a whining noise as it crossed the bumps, alerting us to what lay ahead. The road signs confirmed that a stop street lay ahead, but because it was so unexpected and rare in this forsaken region, the local authorities had put up a series of warning signs about the “STOP AHEAD”. That, in addition to the bumps in the road, provided adequate warning of what was coming.
I was so bemused by all of the signs that I lowered my window to look. I even roused my family from their sleepiness, to “look at all the signs”. Unfortunately, I was so busy watching the signs and ogling out of my window that we went straight through the actual stop street. My family roared with laughter and I imagined what the whole crazy scene probably looked like to someone watching from the roadside, someone like a cop that is.
As I drove on, I realized that sometimes in life we are so busy looking at the signs, that we miss the message or the point. Those who suffer declining health will acknowledge the signs but do nothing to prevent the inevitable disasters that lie ahead. Others may see very clear signs of a coming storm in their marriages or the lives of their children and yet deny the warnings until it is too late. Jesus pointed to the same phenomenon, when people asked for a sign: “You have the law and the prophets, listen to them”, He said on one occasion. Regarding His second coming, He said, “As you read the weather to tell when there is going to be a storm, so you will see the signs of my returning”.
God is unbelievably patient with people and nations, bringing judgment to fruition by small degrees. The changes in the world around us may seem almost imperceptible, but there is still compelling evidence that things are going wrong. God has even raised up people to warn us, people like Al Gore who warned of environmental disaster, James Dobson who cited many warnings about coming disasters in society and the family, and writers like Tim La Hay who interpreted the prophetic signs of our times.
Yet, we seem to have anaesthetized our culture into believing it will be okay. Unfortunately, as things have worsened the authorities have applied increasing controls and restraints on society, by degrees, to manage mob sentimentality and to keep us distracted from the real issues. It has succeeded in keeping us in denial and it has provoked our insecurities to elect leaders who are effective in exploiting our fears for their own gain.
God is almost shouting now. The angels have blown their trumpets and the heralds have declared their dire warnings. Is it not time for us to sit up and take things seriously? We are living in very heady times, but the signs are not for the amusement of passing tourists, they are there to warn us and to spare us of future disaster.
(c) Peter Eleazar at www.bethelstone.com
No comments:
Post a Comment