There you were! Driving down the highway and in the distance you see a person hitchhiking on the side of the road. You know you should not pick up strangers, but when you passed him and looked in your rear view mirror something told you to stop and pick this stranger up. You uneasily pull over, stop and put the car in reverse. You unlock the door and let the stranger in your car. He is polite and well-groomed. The man seems familiar, yet he is different. As you continue on your travels you and the stranger begin to talk about life.
It seems like this guy has so much knowledge about living life to the fullest. He is exciting and a breath of fresh air. You haven’t felt this free talking to someone in a long time. He knows you are a Christian, yet he convinces you that you can talk freely without being judged by him. You and him begin talking about forbidden topics, or at least conversations you stop talking about once you became a Christian, but now you feel so comfortable. You now accept the cigar and bottle of alcohol that your new friend presented to you. Wow! It is like the old days as you start conversing about what you used to do within your many relationships.
You begin to smoke and drink and now you feel more at ease with your vocabulary. Your passenger now asked if you would like him to drive and you accept. Now you are on the passenger side. He is driving allowing you to drink and then he gives you a nice blue pill to take. He says it will make you feel totally free. He has been good and helpful to you thus far, so you accept the little blue pill and once you take it you see the world from a whole new perspective. You pass out. You wake up and now you are in a room with no clothes on, you don’t know where you are and you don’t remember anything except that you picked up a stranger. What happened? How did my life end up in this dark place?
My dear Grandma Ada always said, “If you let the devil ride he will end up driving”. It is simple theology my friends. Our minds are the vehicle that drives us through life. If we allow the enemy in our vehicle he will end up controlling our destination. No, Christians I am not speaking of hell. I am talking about sliding into a dark place that you never thought you would be in. What is the answer to the stranger’s request to accompany you? No!
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13
Thank you Lord for a way out!
The problem has a solution before it becomes a problem. You see, brothers and sisters, the beginning stages of the problem is the temptation. The problem comes only after you have passed the temptation and turn back towards it. The act of listening to all that is against God, lures us to stop listening and believing God. We then begin to believing the stranger’s concepts of freedom without God. Be careful little ears what you hear, be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little hands what you touch, and be careful little minds what you entertain. So is it hopeless when you find yourself in that dark place? No!
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness – John 1:9
A clean slate? No and yes! Now that does not mean that we go totally free. There are consequences for our actions. The consequences are like a pebble thrown into a pond. The ripple effect of our sin will affect others around us. Will we be temporarily or permanently ostracized with some folks as a part of our consequences? Maybe? Brothers and Sister know this, God’s forgiveness and grace is eternal. So in Christ there is a clean slate of forgiveness, but in life’s planting and harvesting of sin there are consequences for all our actions. Some larger and some more immediate than others.
Stranger Danger! Don’t Pick Them Up! Think about it.
