You've Been Warned - Day 233 Month 8-20 Week 34-2
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
1 Kings 7:13-51, Proverbs 21:21-31, Ezekiel 30:20-31:9, 1 Corinthians 14:1-19
You’ve Been Warned
Alex, my son, was about 2 ½ years old and we were at a church picnic.
It seems churches in the 80’s and before always had a church picnic. I remember as a child, we went annually to the Toronto Islands park and there would be a large area designated for our church. It was a big church and a lot of people went to the picnic. There’d be games for the kids and adults. It was a fun time for all. Picnics got a little smaller but by the time Alex was 2 1/2 years old, we had moved to a farm/event centre north of Toronto. Because I was the sound guy, I was always planted close to a stage, a farm wagon, where there would be music and the odd announcement and sometimes a bit of comedy. The comedy was seldom funny, and what became funny was the attempt of people to be funny. Overall, it was good clean fun.
Alex was full of energy as a child of that age is. He was playing and we were constantly telling him “no” because we did not want him to injure himself. We felt like we were constantly stopping him from doing dangerous things and telling him he’ll get hurt so “don’t do it.” Well he “did it.” He jumped off the picnic table we were at and his arm hit the corner of a piece of concrete. He screamed. There was a bit of swelling but we were not sure if there was anything more to it. We packed up and went home. When we got home, we noticed the swelling had increased more and touching the area of his arm created pain. Off to the Sick Children’s hospital in Toronto we went. Sure enough, his arm was broken and he’d be in a cast for a few weeks as his arm healed. It did not matter how many times we told him not to, he eventually did a dangerous stunt that caused a broken arm.
Alex had been warned. He ignored the warning. The warning wasn't punishment. It was intended to protect him.
Last evening, Sylvia and I were reading from Ezekiel, the same book of the prophets that we are reading currently on this blog. Sylvia said, “I wonder why the prophecies are so repetitive?" She did a quick google search and the suggested reasoning was very simple. God gave the prophets directives to prophesy the same thing in numerous different ways to give those who were receiving the prophecy the opportunity to repent and turn back to God. Even if that’s not the specific reason, it makes you recognize that God did give them plenty of opportunities to respond.
Unfortunately, the prophets were more likely to be blamed and the people often would not listen and the prophecy would come to pass as had been prophesied.
Though it seems repetitive when we read, it is also a comfort. God’s loving character shows through when He gives us opportunity upon opportunity to return to Him. When we walk away from God, He continues to pursue us. Unfortunately we don’t often listen and we tend to reap the results of our walking away. He keeps trying though.
So, if you are sensing God sending you a message, why not turn to Him? You may avoid a broken arm!
Have a great day!
Steve
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