I've traveled considerably the last few weeks. St. Louis, Austin and New Braunfels, Kansas City, and of course Ceta Canyon for camp. The highway department must see summer as the time to logically make road repairs because the interstates and highways were filled with construction projects. The signs are familiar: Road work ahead; Observe all warnings; Protect our workers; Double fines in construction zones; Merge - left lane closed; 65 mph; and, finally, End Construction, twice in case you missed it the first time.
When I was a kid they used those torches to highlight a project or road closure. They looked like those bombs from a Warner Brothers cartoon, the kind that Yosemite Sam might have lit for Bugs Bunny. You remember the scene, lights the bomb, Bugs turns the tables, Yosemite Sam blows up (of Daffy Duck and his beak gets blown backwards). Anyway, they used to use the old torches that sat low to the ground and had a flame that was meant to steer you away, along with wooden barricades. Today, the road is lit up in a shade of orange that can be seen from miles away, big signs, and now the introduction of electronic warning signs.
And yet I'm willing to bet that people still miss them, or err on the side of driving recklessly to beat just one more car until it is too late. What a great metaphor for us in life. The signs are there, yet we fail to read them or pay attention or we decide to take the risk. Where does it get us? Trouble, avoidable trouble. Paul says something interesting in 2 Thessalonians reflective of this line of thinking: "As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother." (3:13 - 15) Paul has given complete instructions, so stay with it and deal with those who do not follow his instructions.
Paul closes by saying this, "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all." (v 16) We pray for peace through Christ as we travel through life. We pray that Christ be with us, and we ask for His forgiveness when we fail to observe those warning signs placed before us in life.
Hope Men's Ministry
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