Sunbaking before the tsunami
It's important to be aware of the seriousness of your situation.
In Australia, summer’s a comin’! You can feel it in the air. Spring has sprung. The temperature is rising. I love Summer. I love being outdoors in the sun, wearing shorts and T-shirts (actually, I do this in winter anyway) and going to the beach.
I was reading something about fearing God the other day, and a little beach illustration caught my imagination. The article was talking about Matthew 10:28 were Jesus said,
Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
I have always found these words of Jesus really challenging. I can be a bit of a scaredy cat at times. I find it hard to stand up and be courageous for Christ. I don’t like being judged and rejected by others.
But then I read the beach illustration, which went like this;
To be afraid of how people judge you and yet not fear God is like lying on a beach worrying about your tan while a tsunami approaches.
Can you picture it? A bunch of people sunbaking on towels. A bit of sunscreen. Maybe a hat. Having a little snooze in the afternoon sun. Hoping to get the perfect tan. A picture of serenity. However, while they are consumed by the thought of how healthy and tanned they are going to look at the end of the day, a 10 metre high tsunami wave is about to smash them.
If you were anywhere nearby, you would probably be amazed at the stupidity of the situation. How can they just lie there? Don’t they know what is coming? Can’t they see what is about to happen to them? Why are they so worried about a sun tan, when their lives are in such danger?
And yet I do this all the time. More worried about what people think about me, than what God thinks about me.
Let's remember for our sake & for our friends and family: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
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