POP QUIZ

If you haven’t been a student for many decades, the words “pop quiz” may cause you to hyperventilate. If so, I’m sorry. But not really. Now, take the bubble gum out of your mouth, sit up straight, and don’t cheat. Here we go.

A friend calls to tell you that she’s in the neighborhood and is going to drop by in about 10 minutes, and she’s going to take you to the world’s best combination amusement park and shopping mall and 10-star restaurant, and you need to be dressed and ready to leave. Do you --

A. Panic-stricken, race around the house at warp speed picking up flotsam, hurling things in closets and under rugs, wiping up spills, hoping she won’t notice and tell you what a slob you are, and you can’t find anything to wear, and the whole time you’re hoping she’ll hit a pothole and be indefinitely delayed;

OR

B. Do you lounge in your cushy recliner with a glass of raspberry tea, relaxed and confident in your organized home, wearing just the right all-purpose wrinkle-free stain-free outfit and say, “come on over! Can’t wait to see you!”

Clearly, analogies go just so far. And I’m sure you see where I’m going with this. Nowadays, just as in the olden days, people ask, “where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Peter 3:4). Unbelievers clearly think that Christ’s return for His Church is a bunch of “hooie.” But sadly, even many believers have difficulty realizing that Christ really meant it when He said He was coming back to take us with Him (John 14:3).  He’s certainly not going to shoot off a text to us, saying, “hey, heads-up, I’ll be down there in 10 minutes.” But if He DID, would you --

A. Be embarrassed at His coming, scurrying around, trying to clean up spiritual messes and flotsam (1 John 2:28-29)?

OR

B. Be relaxed, look up with great expectation, and say, “come, Lord Jesus," because you're oh-so ready for Him. You don’t have to run around wiping up spiritual spills, trying to hide spiritual unconfessed flotsam, thinking He won’t notice, because you, in obedience, have been continually abiding in Him.

My precious Lord Jesus, I don’t know when You’re coming, but You have graciously already told me the “signs” (Matthew 24). I believe Your promise that You are preparing a place for me. And it will be so much better than any park/mall/restaurant combo, because You will raise me to be imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:50-54), and so I will always be with You (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). By Your words, I am encouraged and comforted.

STOP, DROP, AND ROLL

Recently, as I walked through a parking lot, I was entranced by someone else’s unusual display of disobedience. A car pulled into a parking space with a large sign specifically designating that this space was for the convenience of pregnant women. And when the car doors opened, 4 teenage boys emerged. I must say, I’m quite proud of myself for not chasing them down to ask when their “due date” was. I also wondered if they perpetually ignored signs on the roadways. Scary, scary thought.

It has been many decades (5 exactly) since I first learned the rules of the road in high school Driver’s Ed. As every one of us knows, there are certain behaviors expected by those who bestow driver’s licenses upon us. Mostly, the directional signs are not that difficult to comprehend. “YIELD” means slow down and watch out. A picture of a BICYCLE means do not run over the helmet-headed bicycler. And “STOP” means ... stop! There are 2-way stops, 4-ways stops, stop-then-proceed, but there’s no getting around it, it means stop.

The most intense sign I observed recently demands: STOP, WRONG WAY, DO NOT ENTER. And instantly, it occurred to me -- Scripture is loaded to the brim with the Lord’s loving warnings, to beware, watch out, don’t indulge in “deeds of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). Don’t go there! Why? Not to ruin all my fun, but because ignoring His “signs” can trip me up in my walk with Him, because it causes me to be a bad ambassador, because it doesn’t glorify Him.

More often than not, Christ’s big warning against anxiety (Matthew 6:25-34) is often the biggest problem for me. It is so incredibly easy to dwell on the past, which is anxiety in reverse. It’s easy to fixate on possible trauma in the future. And yet, He says, if you’re about to worry, don’t start. If you’re already worrying, STOP. Just knock it off, don't go there!

I work well with visuals. So this particular STOP sign in my mind’s eye has proven to be very effective. But I’ve learned to take it a couple of steps further. Thankfully, I’ve never found myself on fire. But we’ve all heard of the infamous “Stop, Drop, and Roll” maneuver to extinguish flames. STOP running, DROP to the ground, and ROLL around, thus quenching the flames.

So now, when I find myself in danger of being “on fire” with anxiety, envy, anger, whatever my flesh decides is fun, I STOP. Then I DROP to my knees in prayer, confession, repentance, and praise to my Lord and Savior Who took these very sins upon Himself. And finally, I ROLL ... in His grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, and yes, even His necessary discipline.

My loving and compassionate Father, “You are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head” (Psalm 3:3). I thank You for the permanent gift of the Holy Spirit causing me to want to be obedient to Your warning signs. And I am daily thankful for Your Word as my “instruction manual” to drive through my life in a way that is pleasing and glorifying to You.