Oblivious

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. (Hebrews 12:14-18, 25 ESV). It is so easy to become oblivious to our surroundings. All of us have learned the art of tuning out things that go on around us. The following story is a wonderful example of how dangerous that may become: Jim Davis, a grocery store clerk who loves his job, prides himself on his good work. One of his pet peeves is out-of-control toddlers and parents who yell at their kids but do nothing to correct their children's obnoxious behavior. One evening, Jim was checking out a customer who had a shopping cart full of groceries. While ringing up the sale, a child behind him began screaming very loudly, and an angry man responded by shouting, "Get down!" What a jerk, thought Jim, without even looking up. He kept on calling out prices and moving the groceries past the scanner. The kid behind him was still crying, and again he heard the man yell, "Get down!" Sheesh. Talk about poor parenting, thought Jim. This guy is a total jerk. He kept on checking groceries without looking up. Finally finishing the customer's cart, Jim looked up and said, "That'll be $89.95, ma'am." Seeing no one, he looked around and noticed that everyone, including his customer, was lying face down on the floor. He turned around just in time to see a gunman leave the store. The checker behind him, still lying on the floor, calmly said, "Jim, you know the second time you heard 'Get down,' his gun was pointed right at your head." We can get so accustomed to the noise of our culture and the distractions of the world that when we hear someone warning us about our behavior, we ignore the warning completely. We go on with business as usual. This is true in the physical and the spiritual world. God calls us to repentance in many ways. Don’t get caught being oblivious to His call. The time will come when there'll be no more opportunities to act on the message. Now is the best time for you to turn your attention to God’s grace and love.