Fire!
When I was about seven years of age, my brother and I were at our grandparents home in the Eli community visiting. We decided to go out into the sage brush field close to the house and play. The field was surrounded by woods..
Earlier that day, I had heard on the radio that if a panic situation happened, the last thing you want to do is panic! Well, everything was going well until I brought out some matches that I had spirited away earlier that day. I thought it might be fun to strike some of them since there were no adults around. My brother had gone on to another part of the field. So I soon had a small fire going in the sage brush. It really was fun until suddenly, the fire started spreading out of control.
Again, I had heard on the radio that I shouldn't panic, so instead of quickly responding to the situation that could burn down the house and start a forest fire, I was moping around really slowly thinking I was doing the right thing.
When my brother saw the situation, he ran to the house to get the adults to come and help. Within twenty minutes or so, with the help of God, I'm sure, they had the fire out and I had a good scolding for my irresponsibility! I had learned several lessons from the experience.
Never be slow to respond to a desperate situation.
Do not neglect to find out the consequences before entering into an area with which you are not familiar.
Enlist help quickly if things get out of your control.
Our whole world is like that sage brush field. It is a tender box, ready to burn at any time. People are everywhere standing at the edge of the fire without realizing they are in deep trouble by not quickly responding to the Lord's call to them to come away from the danger of ignorance.
We should never neglect our own soul or the soul of someone else. The devil is quick to devour all hope of every person who is ignorant of God's call to come to Jesus. If you aren't sure what to say to someone about their eternal destiny, enlist the help of a Christian friend, or go to the book of John in your Bible to find the answers. Finally, if you are going to start a fire, be sure it is a fire that will invite people to come to the Lord. Never try to drive them, but instead, invite them with genuine love and mercy.
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