No city in the developed world could
function without traffic lights. They are not physical barriers, but drivers
choose to exercise self-control, and for the most part, follow their
instructions: stopping for red, exercising caution for amber (yellow), going
for green. The motorist who ignores the red light does so at the peril of his
and other people’s lives, while following the simple color code increases
everyone’s chances of reaching their destination safely.
Just so in life.
•
Red light
Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evil doings so I don’t have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong.—Isaiah 1:16 MSG
Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evil doings so I don’t have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong.—Isaiah 1:16 MSG
Zaccheus was a tax collector—never a
popular job—and to top things off, honesty was not too high on his priority
list. Nonetheless, he went out of his way to hear what Jesus had to say, and
Jesus in turn went out of His way to meet with him. Zaccheus got the message
loud and clear that he should stop fiddling the books and cheating the people
he was collecting taxes from. He saw the red light. He stopped in his tracks,
made a pledge, and paid back over and above what he had stolen.1
What would God want me to stop doing?
Is there a sin, a bad habit? Perhaps it’s smoking or overeating; perhaps it’s
playing computer games late into the night; perhaps it’s snapping impatiently
at a family member or coworker; perhaps it’s simply leaving the lights on and
wasting electricity.
Draw near to God and He will draw
near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you
double-minded.—James 4:8
"Dear God, help me to be aware
of the red lights in my life, to stop what is not helping me or others or
pleasing You."
•
Amber light
The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.—Proverbs 14:16 NLT
The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.—Proverbs 14:16 NLT
An amber light can have different
meanings in different contexts, but the idea of a blinking amber light is,
“Watch out, are you sure you’re meant to go ahead?”
A woman in the direst poverty was
about to cook up what little remained of her meager food supply. This was to be
a last meal for herself and her son, but the prophet Elijah arrived and
requested to be fed. Give him what remained of their food? No doubt she paused
to think this over. In the end, she chose to trust God and feed His prophet
first. We are told that as a result of this act of faith, her supply of food
was miraculously multiplied and her household survived through the entire
famine.2
It is not always possible to know
the outcome of our decisions. That’s part of the mystery of life. What we can
do is exercise caution, weigh up the options, consider the consequences, and
pray for God’s guidance. Receiving God’s leading may take time; rarely do we
receive the answers in a flash.
Many flowers open to the sun, but
only one follows him constantly.—Heart, be thou the sunflower, not only open to
receive God’s blessing, but constant in looking to Him.—Jean Paul (1763–1825)
"Dear God, please help me to be
cautious. Give me guidance to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift
up my soul to You.3"
•
Green light
Go therefore.—Matthew 28:19
Go therefore.—Matthew 28:19
Green light. It’s time to go.
There’s a lot of “going” in the Gospel narrative. Laborers are sent into the
vineyard,4 freshly healed lepers are sent to the temple,5
the disciples are sent out preaching and teaching.6 Jesus Himself
stayed on the move: “Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in
their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every
sickness and every disease among the people.”7 It wasn’t activity
simply for the sake of staying busy, but purposeful, meaningful action.
God calls us to activity. Our
response to the needs around us should not be merely sympathy, but action.8
If you stray to the right or the
left, you will hear a word that comes from behind you: “This is the way; walk
in it.”—Isaiah 30:21 CEB
The strength and happiness of a man
consists in finding out the way in which God is going, and going in that way,
too.—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887)
We cannot live only for ourselves. A
thousand fibers connect us with our fellow-men; and along those fibers, as
sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as
effects.—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
"Dear God, help me not to hold
back when it’s time for action. Help me to go forward in faith. Amen."
1. See Luke 19:2–10.
2. See 1 Kings 17:8–16.
3. See Psalm 143:8.
4. See Matthew 20:6–7.
5. See Luke 17:12–14.
6. See Matthew 10:7
7. Matthew 9:35
8. See James 2:15–16.
2. See 1 Kings 17:8–16.
3. See Psalm 143:8.
4. See Matthew 20:6–7.
5. See Luke 17:12–14.
6. See Matthew 10:7
7. Matthew 9:35
8. See James 2:15–16.
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