Articles
Prepared (or Not) for the Unexpected
Many cars have safety features built into them that will not be used 99.9% of the time - air bags, anti-lock brakes, back-up cameras, etc. But a lot of bad things can happen in that 0.1% moment.
Last night, after speaking in Harrisonburg, Melanie and I were returning home just before 10:00 pm. On I-66, on a stretch where there are concrete walls on both sides of the road, a blur of fur (a deer, I think) dashed in front of the car. I never saw it coming as it ran left to right and between us and the car just ahead.
The cruise was set on 70 mph. I instinctively pulled the steering wheel to the left to try and miss Bambi – hard enough to make the tires squeal. At 70 mph, that is quite a rush. But I turned the wheel back, maintained control, and mentally thanked Toyota for making the Camry suspension able to deal with such a violent motion at high speed. Our little adventure could have turned out quite differently.
Moral: How good is our spiritual emergency equipment?
The key line in the above scenario is I never saw it coming. With a concrete barrier on my left, I didn’t expect to see a deer running in front of my car from that direction. And sometimes this is how we get into spiritual trouble. It’s not that we aren’t aware of dangers – Satan uses the same appeals and deceptions that he has used for millennia. But sometimes we simply aren’t expecting the temptation; we aren’t prepared for the disappointment; we aren’t knowledgeable enough to refute the false idea, and when we need an emergency response to a potentially grave situation the backup equipment is not there or doesn’t work properly.
I wonder if this is what happened to Peter when “certain men came from James” (Gal 2:12). Before this, “he would eat with the Gentiles,” as he should have done since he earlier acknowledged: “God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (Ac 10:28). After learning this from a vision (the unclean animals), he went on to baptize Cornelius and stay a few days in his home (Ac 10:48). On returning to Jerusalem he successfully defended his actions to the skeptical Jews (Ac 11:1-18).
Peter’s problem in later shunning the Gentiles was not lack of knowledge. Was he caught off-guard by the Jews from Jerusalem? Did he think he could hide his hypocrisy while catering to the Jews? But why was he so beholden to this delegation of Jews in the first place? Peter apparently coveted their approval although it led to treating the Gentiles as second-class citizens. Peter, it seems, had a latent weakness of character that was exposed by an unexpected situation.
So, what about us? First, let’s be aware of obvious weaknesses or “danger zones.” In our daily driving we know to check our blind spot, look out for the “merge-challenged,” don’t take a turn signal for granted, etc. If I am quick tempered, how can I learn to guard my emotions and speech when the unexpected happens? If I tend to lie my way out of trouble, how can I fortify my spirit against such temptation when under stress?
But perhaps more worrisome are the subtle cracks in our spiritual foundation that are not readily obvious. The only thing to do is strengthen ourselves across the boards, pursue overall spiritual soundness and remain alert for potential trouble spots. Read avidly. Worship diligently. Pray constantly. Admit faults. Banish bitterness. Serve humbly. Speak encouragement. Be hopeful. Speak truth. Study life. We never know when we might desperately need that one resource that’s been neglected.
