I had a very sad occurrence today. I was driving on a local highway this morning and I came upon a squirrel crossing the road. He looked up and saw me coming and started his zig zag pattern (serpentine) and I slowed to allow him to move off the road. Then something happened, he froze! I kept going....When I felt the bump I thought, "Maybe I hit a large rock or something?" I looked in my mirror and sure enough, he was road kill. Ugh....What a mess with squirrel guts everywhere and....well, you get the picture. Probably more picture than you intended. I sum it up. He's dead!!! Then I realized something. The only way to be road kill is to venture out on something you shouldn't be on if you are a squirrel, a highway! If he was in a tree, which is where he should be, he would be alive right now. But no, he has to try to play chicken with huge, moving automobiles. Why? Possibly curiosity, or just dumb luck. It could be he didn't know where he was because he had strayed. The problem with this straying thing was, he didn't live through it!
In 1 Peter 3:8-12 it illustrates a very good point when it comes to where you should be and where you should not be. Peter also sums it up by telling us to live harmonious lives that are sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit. What he means is that's where we should be (get it - squirrel...tree) and that should be where we stay. If evil comes your way, don't go there. If gossip and lying come your way, don't go there. If obstinante people want you to hang with them, don't go there. If any kind of evil tries to lure you on a highway you are not familiar with, don't go there. If you do you will look like that squirrel. You will try to go one way, then another, and just when you need to get off of that sin highway, you freeze and SPLAT!!! Because of a progression of sin in your life and wrong relationships you become Road Kill. I know it's hard not to be lured onto that road and I know it seems you are bored and not "with it" if you don't try it out. But in reality you are better off staying in the tree, or the woods, or possibly a grassy field. Not the highway!!! Highways were not made for squirrels and evil was not made for Christians. It 's a trap
and Peter goes on to tell more truth by quoting Psalm 34 and warning about walking down the "evil highway" that can kill. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:10 about the temptation to get on that evil road where he says, "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." Basically, God is at the side of the road with a big sign that says, "DANGER AHEAD, DO NOT CROSS ROAD!" Now it's up to us. Will we heed the warning signs or will we try to navigate territory we have no business being on. It is your choice and it's important that you make a good one.
In the Australian bush country grows a little plant called the "sundew." It has a slender stem and tiny, round leaves fringed with hairs that glisten with bright drops of liquid as delicate as fine dew. Woe to the insect, however, that dares to dance on it. Although its attractive clusters of red, white, and pink blossoms are harmless, the leaves are deadly. The shiny moisture on each leaf is sticky and will imprison any bug that touches it. As an insect struggles to free itself, the vibration causes the leaves to close tightly around it. This innocent-looking plant then feeds on its victim.
Are you being lured into doing something you should not do? Are you letting evil and those who promote it lure you onto the highway of evil? Time to go home to where you are supposed to be and there you will find a satisfaction in knowing that God's ears are listening for our prayers and His eyes are toward the righteous. Where do you stand right now? Living on the narrow road of righteous, or ROAD KILL?
The Pilgrimage continues....
David Warren
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