Warning Signs

By Bart Warren
     Some time ago I read about a man who was traveling down a path that he knew well. He had traversed it many times before. One day, there was a sign on the road that read:
BLOCKED! DO NOT PASS! DIFFICULT TO TURN BACK!
The man read the sign. He understood each word. Nevertheless, he continued on the road anyway.
     It wasn’t long before he came across a tree that had fallen at a point at which the road was extremely narrow. It took him several minutes to finally get turned around and headed out. When he got back to the sign that had warned him of the problems ahead, he noticed that the back part of it had a message as well: TOLD YOU SO!
     Why did he ignore the warning? Maybe because he thought he knew better. Maybe he had been there enough times before that he felt too comfortable. Maybe he felt as though he could overcome any challenge. Maybe he didn’t believe the sign.
     This situation reminds me of the way many people treat spiritual warning signs. In spite of Biblical warnings, many act as if they know better than God. They get too comfortable with this life—as if this life is all that there is to our existence. They become prideful and feel as though they can handle any situation on their own—without the aid of anyone else. There are even those who choose not to believe the message contained in God’s Holy Word.
     Let us all heed the warning:
     Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
     It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake. (Mark 13:33-37)
     Don’t ignore the plain warning signs our God has left us for our own benefit and well-being. He wants us to arrive at our destination (heaven) safely!
- via The Encourager, the weekly bulletin for the Calvert City Church of Christ, Calvert City, KY.  Lance Cordle preaches for the congregation.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.calvertchurchofchrist.com