Listening to the Warnings ................. Parables 241

(October 31, 1990)

A few weeks ago we were driving along the trans-Canada highway when I noticed a few cattle in a barley field. They had somehow breached the fence and escaped their adjacent pasture.

I told my husband and he quickly turned at the next corner and drove about a mile to the nearest farm house. We both knew what a belly full of grain can do to the critter who eats it. As we entered the driveway, a young girl, perhaps in her early teens, was in the yard playing with three very tiny kittens. I wondered if she would care.

As soon as he told her about the cattle, she said, “Those belong to our neighbor.” She said thank you, smiled, and hurried inside to the telephone.

After we left, I wondered about the reaction. It wasn’t even her cows, but if it had been, I’m sure she would have done the same thing: quickly thanked us and remedied the problem. I’m quite certain it didn’t enter her head to say, “It is none of your business” or “That’s your opinion” or “I don’t believe you.” Not only that, the owner of the cows would gladly receive her call, even though he would be concerned about his animals.

We saw the danger, reported it to the person we thought responsible, and she took action. It seems so normal. But it isn’t always the way those in danger react to a warning. As a Christian, I occasionally encounter someone who reacts to the gospel with “My life is none of your business...”

Some think that we are our brother’s keeper only when physical life is threatened or material loss is at stake. If their house is on fire, they want to know, but if their soul is threatened, “look the other way, thank you very much.”

Oddly enough, most of us comply. We don’t tell others what we know.  We have the assurance of eternal life... why care about those who don’t care about themselves? In spite of the expressions of urgency all through the Bible and in spite of Jesus telling us to warn people and be quick to do so, whether it is convenient for us or not, the fact of the matter is that it is inconvenient and easier not to bother.

We might get the response that our message is just our opinion -- but it isn’t. Actually, we used to feel the same response to it, that our way was okay and the Christian message about sin and salvation was just somebody’s opinion. Then God grabbed us by the heart and let us see the reality of what He says.  Our opinion changed... and became the same as His “opinion” -- “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.” We know there is genuine danger; people need to be told or there will be loss.

Of course people are free to make their own decisions. They may choose not to believe what they hear. Their decision won’t change the truth of it -- if the teenager did not believe us, or had we not told her, the cattle would still be in the grain, and maybe even made their grave there.

Occasionally we hear of someone who died because they refused to believe they needed medical help; Jim Henson is one example. His death was so needless. Spiritual death is just like that. There is no reason to suffer the consequences of sin when God so graciously provided a way to escape. No one needs to go into eternity without Christ, separated from Him forever... unless of course they ignore the warnings and make that choice.

God warns of hidden dangers ............... Parables 221

(June 13, 1990)

My husband once yanked one of our children, who was oblivious to the danger, from the path of a truck. Other tots toy with matches -- fire is “pretty.” Some play in sewer systems - that’s “exciting.” A few teenagers spin the chamber of a loaded gun in a game of roulette - what a “thrill.” A youngster inhales his first snort of cocaine - someone told him it’s “harmless fun.” Danger that is obvious to a parent is not always obvious to a child.

But what if the danger is not obvious, even to an adult? How can we know what is too hot to touch? If we touch it to find out, we may be burned. In such cases, a wise child consults his even wiser heavenly Father. He gives instruction about “poisons” and “fatal toys” of which we may not be aware. For instance, consider this list: “There shall not be found among you any one that... uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a counselor with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer...” (Deuteronomy 18:10).

In case anyone thinks witchcraft is a fairy tale and this warning is out of date and related to superstition, take a look at the occult section in a book store. These days, with the New Age movement advocating activities like channeling and consulting spirit guides to discover the “god within,” this Old Testament passage needs to be reconsidered. What does it say for our time?

First of all, God hates this kind of thing. Verse 12 says: “For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD...” Whatever the human reasons for seeking guidance from spirits, conducting seances, even reading a horoscope, God detests it. No doubt His hatred is based on His knowledge that He alone knows what is best for the creatures He created. Certainly a medium or a witch does not. Some may declare that God is either dead, useless, uncaring, or something other than He has revealed Himself to be, but those who reject Him and follow tarot cards and the like are guilty of a form of idolatry, in this case a particularly dangerous form.

Secondly, it was nations in the land of Canaan that practiced these activities and God said “because of these abominations the LORD thy God drives them (those nations) out from before thee.” These people lost their homes and their land because they were dabbling in fortune-telling and other so-called “harmless” activities. It may or may not have been serious stuff in their minds but it was worthy of judgment in God’s mind.

God went on to tell His people (verse 15) that He would give them One to listen to, a prophet that would tell them all they needed to know. He would be from God and like God. This is a definite reference to the One who later came and proclaimed Himself to be God in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus came, He opened the way to the true God; not the god within but the One who would come in, if invited. He also gave those who believe in Him a promise for their future and a faith for right now. God’s people don’t need the vague generalities from a horoscope nor the deception of “spirit guides.” What we do need is the truth of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, with the discernment that only a loving heavenly Father can provide.

“Baby” Christians don’t automatically know which “harmless” fun is really harmless, so we need to watch out for each other, warning and admonishing in love, just as the New Testament says. We also need to pay careful attention to our Parent... who knows the danger and wants to protect us from what might appear to us as “harmless fun.”