October 28, 2005

  
Dear WCPC family:

How has your week gone? Mine had its ups and downs. While driving back from Houston on Wednesday with Jullie (we were scouting out restaurants for a men’s monthly study for those who work in Houston ) her car ran out of gas. Now I was driving, but I was unfamiliar with her dash, so I didn’t notice the warning light telling me I needed gas. Fortunately we ran out of gas right next to someone else who hadn’t noticed their warning light telling them they were almost out. So we had fellowship on 45 North.  The fellowship of those who don’t pay attention to their car's warning lights. Her husband arrived, gas in hand and everything ended well. Jullie found out they lived in The Woodlands and invited them to church (that’s my girl). Never miss an opportunity to witness, especially with cars racing by you and your life is in peril.

Now I wish I could blame Jullie’s car, but I can’t. I’ve actually had a couple of problems with my own car when I ignored the warning lights. Never a good thing to do. We think we can make it another few miles, but, at least for me on a couple of occasions, I was wrong. 

Life also has warning lights that go off. Often we don’t notice them at first, or we ignore them, thinking we have more time, but always they catch up with us sooner or later. Those lights can be in the form of sleepless nights or a relationship that goes south fast (most really don’t go south fast, we just have long ignored the warning light). As a parent maybe it’s the rebellion of a son or daughter that we write off as nothing, but slowly builds. Maybe we start depending more on alcohol than we should, so we won’t have to pay attention to the warning lights going off inside of us. Warning lights in life come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Sooner or later they can’t be ignored.

Of course the thing to do is the moment we start noticing there’s a problem is to address it. All I had to do was pull into a gas station and fill up my tank. I know some of the issues in life aren’t as easy to correct, but I know they won’t ever be corrected or handled if we keep on ignoring them. Sooner or later, there’s going to be trouble.  It’s only a matter of time.

This Sunday we will celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Now I know that just admitting the problems, recognizing the warning lights, is only part of the solution, but it is the start. I want to encourage you to come this Sunday, ready to admit to God the issues you’re struggling with, the concerns that are overwhelming you, the warning lights that keep flashing. I can’t promise afterwards everything will be ok. But I think I can guarantee that if you don’t, sooner or later you’ll be walking down a very dangerous highway, just like Jullie and I were on Wednesday, only the solution won’t be as easy.  

See you on Sunday!  

David Jones