Cleaning the Skyscrapers

My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. (Proverbs 3:21-26 ESV).

I’m not particularly afraid of heights; however, I’m not sure I could mount a scaffold and rise into the air hundreds of feet just to clean windows. My thought might be that the rain should be enough to get that job done! As I continued this thought I was reminded of our reading today. After all, we all are suspended in a precarious situation just by the fact that we wake up and walk through this world. The window washers must have some assurance that their equipment is adequate to keep them from falling to their deaths or they wouldn’t do what they do. Perhaps it is because their scaffold and safety harnesses are fastened to the building itself and they will be safe even if the platform should fall. Our lives are often lived on the edge; we need a confidence like that. When we give our lives to Jesus Christ, He becomes our safety and our security. Because of Him, we can risk living life to the fullest and be all that we were created to be. He keeps us secure, even though life is often insecure, even though we get disappointed, even though the bottom falls out. Veteran news reporter Scott Pelley never goes on assignment without his travel essentials — a shortwave radio, camera, indestructible suitcase, laptop computer, phone, and an emergency locator beacon that works anywhere. “You extend the antenna, push two buttons, and it sends a signal to a satellite connected to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration," Pelley says. “It tells them who and where I am. Depending on what country you’re in, they’ll either send a rescue team—or not” (AARP The Magazine). Pelley has never needed to use the beacon, but he never travels without it. But when it comes to our relationship with God, we don’t need radios, phones, or emergency beacons. No matter how precarious our circumstances become, He already knows who and where we are; and we are anchored to him through Jesus. Our needs are never hidden from God, and we are never separated from His care. Go ahead, climb as high as you want. Just make sure you are tethered to Him. That happens through faith in the work of Christ. His grace is extended to each of us with a promise to never be separated from him (cf. Romans 8:31-39).