BAD OL' GEORGIA BOY
How often are you reminded of your mortality? Maybe you have a daily reminder of the fragile nature of your life as you groan and creek your way out of bed. Or, perhaps, you're too young to have yet discovered the tenuous tether of your mortal coil. Recently, I was reminded of how aggravatingly reckless we humans can be when we are influenced by a misguided impression of indestructibility.
My family and I were winding our way through the beauty that is New Hampshire and Vermont. We were in no hurry as we drank in the spectacular splendor of our surroundings. It was our first full day of vacation and already the din of day timers were quickly being replaced by the timeless rhythm of the road. Unfortunately the road's rhythm abruptly shifted from a waltz to a rumba as this bad Ol' boy from Georgia whizzed by in his camper.
Lest anyone think to the contrary, let me be clear--I have nothing against Georgia, or the majority of people who live there. Neither am I suggesting that Georgia has more moronic motorists than anywhere else in the world. All I am saying is that, unfortunately for Georgia, this particular person and his contraption of imminent death bore a license plate from that fair state. I can also categorically state that this guy was the most terrifying traffic jockey I've ever seen! Truly, it was a frightening sight as he passed car after car. He did it in construction zones and going up hills. In fact, solid lines and caution signs seemed to suggest to this guy "go faster" and "take more chances". Several times he almost got himself and many others killed.
This driver was so reckless that I purposely slowed down a bit just to put some distance between us. I fully expected to see a multiple car catastrophe soon thereafter as his truck erratically vanished into the distance. Interestingly enough, for all this guy's risk taking, he really didn't get very far ahead because we spotted him about an hour later when we all had to stop in a construction zone. We were all left scratching our heads as we wondered why anyone would choose to endanger lives just to gain a minute here and a second there.
Obviously this guy was blissfully unaware about how close he was standing to Mr. Death and, quite frankly, his kamikaze driving style left me foaming at the mouth and praying real hard for those unfortunate enough to share the road with him that day.
OK, now we come to the time that we wrap this all up in an arrow pointing to your heart: How reckless are you with your life?
Before you answer that question, let me define for you what I mean by reckless. To be reckless with your life simply means to take unnecessary chances with the life and relationships God has entrusted to you. Please note that I said unnecessary chances. I am in no way calling you to a life void of risk or danger. In my opinion, Christians should be the biggest risk takers there are in this life!--it's just that we are to take the risks that God inspires us to take and not the risks of a fool. We are not to take risks because we are careless - rather, we are called to take risks because we care more!
OK, now back to the question: How reckless are you with your life? Do you refuse God's call to salvation thinking that there is lots of road beyond the next bend? Maybe you turn your lights off and play chicken with God? Trust me, this isn't a good idea. It's time to buckle up with the gracious offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, God's Son. (E-mail me if you want some non-threatening help in finding out how to give your life to Jesus.)
Maybe you're already a Christian, but you're taking risks of another sort: Do you weave in and out of the traffic of temptation thinking your skill will keep you from crashing? Have you foolishly taken the steering wheel back from God and done a U turn away from what you know He wants you to do, to be, to give up, to take up? Maybe you have a problem about not being risky enough? Could it be that God has called you into the passing lane, but you're driving on the shoulder with the four-ways flashing? Perhaps, you're forever putting your foot on the brake!
This week, consider both the call to defensive driving, and the call to reckless faith. Life's too precious to be thrown away in a careless moment of trying to get ahead!
"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?"(Mat 16:26)
"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?"(Gal 5:6,7)
If you have any comments, or thoughts, I would love to hear from you, just click on my name at the bottom of this page.
