02 November 2007

Little red wagon or Mustang GT, you decide.

Anyone who has ever experienced zero to ten miles per hour in less than seven seconds on a forty-five degree slope knows exactly what I am talking about. The name of the game was SPEED, and it was attained by whatever means necessary! That's right, I'm talking about the break-neck sport of little red wagon racing! Having experienced many "crash and burns", I had become well acquainted with proper technique by the age of eight. The key was knowing the right time to turn the wheels to avoid the briers at the end of my drag-strip (which is a wagon-racing term meaning the hill I coasted down). When I felt as though I had reached the pinnacle of my talent as a little red wagon racer, I challenged my little sister to a race. So there we were, me in my tried and true wagon and my little sister on her brand new, banana seat, "girly" bike at the top of that notorious hill. As the race started, I knew what I had to do. All my knowledge, experience, and sheer talent came together in those few moments of glory. Knowing the terrain like the back of my hand I maneuvered the course beautifully, cutting the corner at just the right time, avoiding the brier patch. I had won! Against all odds I had beaten a more mechanically sound piece of machinery! As I turned to give a boasting glance to my little sister I realized that I had forgotten to tell her to avoid the brier patch at all cost. Not having the knowledge of the track that I had, she had plunged face first into the bushes! The punishment for daring my six year old sister to race towards the brier patch took some of the glory away from that day's solid victory (but not all of it!).

Fast forward about twelve years. I had worked, scrimped and saved to be able to purchase a car that many guys that age can only dream of: a jet black 1991 Mustang GT. It was awesome! It had a 5.0 high performance V8 engine with an exhaust system that could give chills to a brick! I had been taught to control that car like an adult and took extremely good care of it. My wife and I went on our honeymoon in that car and enjoyed it immensely. I will NEVER forgive myself for selling that car! It was the product of discipline and patience over a period of more than five years. But what if I had never had the car? What if I had never even learned to drive one? What if I had just stuck with my little red wagon from my childhood? My wife and I would have looked pretty funny riding down the road on our honeymoon in that!

Unfortunately, many Christians teenagers are satisfied spiritually with riding around in their little red wagons when they should be driving around in muscle cars with high performance V8 engines. So many young people are stuck riding down the same hill over and over while spiritually mature teens are pursuing God's plan for them on the super highways of life!

Paul was faced with dealing with some of these spiritually immature Christians in Corinth. They could not get past the "little red wagon" issues and move on to the meat. Look how he has to deal with them in I Corinthians 3:1-3:

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

These Corinthians were completely missing out on the blessings of God because they couldn't grow up! They were spending time on things that seemed so important to them, but in reality did not mean a thing!

Petty arguments and grudges among friends, wasting time with movies, bad music, and video games, trying to stay with the "in" crowd, choosing to have fun over getting serious about life no matter what the consequences - these are just a few things that mean absolutely nothing in the outstretched highway of life. God has a plan for your life that far surpasses any plan you could make for yourself, but you have to be willing to give up your little red wagons of selfish immaturity. Don't let yourself be distracted by the world's philosophy of having fun and staying immature as long as you possibly can. They want you to think that this philosophy will bring you joy and happiness. It may for a few years, but before long you'll run right into the brier patch and pay for it! Pursue God's plan for you, trust me, it's a lot more exciting! Don't worry about what others around you may do or say, they will wish they had done the same thing in ten years. Embrace God's desires for you as a young person and enjoy the blessings of living a spiritually mature life!

Let us know how you are doing. Write us so we can pray for you as you pursue God's will for your life.

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