Kendall the Fire

Above you will see a diminutive mountain. It is outside of Anchorage, Alaska and everybody just called it “Flat Top,” for obvious reasons. When I was a young boy, we used to go up to the summit of Flat Top Mountain. It would give you a beautiful view of Anchorage, the Cook Inlet, and Mt. Susitna in the background. But we didn’t to to Flat Top for the view… we went for the thrill.

What you can’t see in the picture are the vast green swaths of blueberry plants. You may (or may not) love blueberries. I like them and my wife Kristel does not. Yet, we really didn’t go all the way up the mountain to pick the blueberries. We went looking for some excitement. You see, if you took a piece of cardboard, a circular sledding disk, or even a cafeteria tray, you could sled down a very steep and slick mountainside without even having to wait for the snow of winter–warm weather sledding… what could be better? Flying down a slick hill with thousands of little berries acting as ball-bearings was about as much fun as a kid could have.

However, one distinct memory I have was the disappearance of my brother. No… he didn’t get lost or abducted. It went something like this. Gary was sledding down the hill on a cardboard piece of a washing machine crate. I was just behind him and to his right on an aluminum sledding disk. I was gaining on him. (This was going to be fun, passing my big brother!) And then, all of a sudden he was gone. He simply disappeared from sight. Of course, I won the race to the bottom, but it was a hollow victory, because I was concerned about Gary.

What had happened… had he been mysteriously abducted by aliens? Then, as I was scanning the hillside, his head popped up. Next, his whole body emerged. He had been swallowed by a hole that was about four feet deep. The hole was cleverly camouflaged by the blanket of blueberries, but gravity still did it’s thing and down he went. Now that had to be an abrupt stop! He had some bruises and a bloody nose, but otherwise was okay. I was relieved and he lived to sled another day. Yet, for the moment, he would tell you that the thrill was gone.

You might wonder where I am going with all of this. I see a parallel to our lives. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 25 mentions “the pleasures of sin for a season.” Sometimes we get wrapped up is something that really seems great, but find out that there will be some serious consequences… a price to pay. We get caught in a trap that we didn’t see coming. Maybe it’s an unhealthy relationship. It seems fun and fulfilling, but at some point we know that it’s not going to be good for us, if we don’t get out. What do we do? Or, it could be a sinful habit. We become entangled in it even thought we know that the results could be devastating. It might even be some inane activity that once was perfectly harmless to us, but has become and obsession… eating up more and more of our time or attention. Now it’s unhealthy and counter- productive.

The sad truth is, there is an enemy to our souls who would love to entrap us, to bury us, or to make us spiritually impotent by any means possible. In Proverbs 14:12 the Bible says, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” That’s a pretty severe consequence. I’ve actually seen it happen to people. Fortunately, the Word of God also says there is a way out. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

If you are finding yourself trapped or in a hole, call upon the Lord who makes escape hatches. Phone a friend. Call upon a chaplain, a counselor, or a a trusted teacher or pastor. You don’t have to try to do it alone, but do something start climbing out of your trap.

Oh, there’s something else I forgot to tell you about sliding down Flat Top Mountain on the blueberries. You might have figured it out. Yeah… the blue- berries leave stains, some pretty bad ones. In fact, you better just throw away the pants you were wearing that day–they’re never going to be clean again. Similarly, sin leaves stains, too. Galatians 6:7-8 states, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction.” If you don’t drop that habit or get clear of that problem relationship, your life will eventually become stained (marked) by the negative impact. So, get out while you can!

Don’t, however, forget the second half of Galatians 6:8 which says, “whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Thankfully, there is a way out–an escape. You can start climbing out and moving forward, today. Call upon the Lord and he will save you, he will rescue you from the pit (see Psalm 40:2).