I was taking my air conditioner out of the window, with today being a beautiful, fall day. As I was getting ready to put it away for the winter, I took out the filter and cleaned it, and boy was it nasty! The last few times I used the AC, the little light came on that said “check filter”. I would glance at the filter, and not seeing anything blocking it, would reset the alarm. I never took a hard look at the filter, and by just taking a glance at it, dirt was building up that I could not see.
I see how this can apply to our lives. The reason I titled this blog “Before It’s Too Late”, is because we need to fix things in our lives before its too late. If we have borderline high blood pressure or high cholesterol, our Doctor will tell us about it, and in essence, turning on that light that says “check filter”. If we ignore it, or just glance at it and reset the alarm, it can become a big issue in no time. This can be the same for anything – our faith walk, drinking, smoking, promiscuity; you name it. You have an extra drink, another smoke, another night out, another day not spending time with Jesus, and our check filter light comes on. If we think nothing of it, and reset the button; there is trouble ahead.
Jesus warns us in Luke 12 that nothing is hidden. It may feel like an internal struggle, but all of a sudden it will become known. Its all over the news and media outlets – a few drinks turns into a DWI; a text message turns into an affair; smoking turns into cancer. Each one of these instances, people struggled with the sin internally, and it eventually found them out. Luke 12:2-3 says “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” Lets deal with our sin before its too late, because each breath is a gift from God.
I picked specifically these issues because I know many of us struggle with that. Brothers Without Borders was created to also encourage faith and accountability among emergency services. When people struggle with things like this and keep it in, its going to end up killing them. Find a trusted partner to keep you accountable, because two are better than one, and we can pick each other back up when we fall. Spend time reading the Bible, pray for clarity and help with whatever it is your struggling with. Do not be discouraged! Be grateful that our sin is pointed out in time so we can ask for Gods forgiveness, ask Him to take the driver seat in our lives, and spend eternity with Him. Take the time to heed the check filter warning, and lets clean out our filters together. Don’t wait, we don’t know if the next heartbeat will be our last.
“for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10