In 1874 Jules Verne published a novel called The Mysterious Island.
In the book Verne tells of five Union soldiers who manage to escape
a Civil War prison camp in a hot-air balloon. According to the
storyline, a great storm catches the balloon and carries it over the sea
and across countless miles.
Horror comes upon the men when they
realize their torn balloon is losing altitude and will be forced into
the midst of the ocean. If they are to survive, they must lighten the
load. The first choice is easy: the bags of ballast are emptied. That
buys some time, but not much.
Soon the balloon finds itself in
danger again. The men throw over all unnecessary provisions. Guns, extra
clothing -- almost everything goes. It's a losing battle. Each choice
buys them time, but only for a while. Next the men agree to jettison
their food, then their gold, and finally, with the men clinging to the
netting of the balloon, even the gondola in which they had been riding.
The men do live. It would have been a very short novel if they
hadn't.
But what I want you to remember is that these men figured
out what was important and what was not. Things which had once seemed to
be indispensable were reduced to being nothing more than excess baggage.
Although he didn't know it, Verne was putting into fiction the
Scripture verse which says, "Let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles" (Hebrews 12:1b). In other words,
let's keep God first.
Understand, the Lord isn't saying, almost
first, or close to first, or most of the time first.
Not so long
ago, a national magazine asked people to list the things they couldn't
live without. Sixth-three percent of the people said they needed their
automobile; 54 percent said light bulbs were necessary, and 42 percent
wanted to keep their telephone. Twenty-two percent were unable to give
up their television, and 19 percent had to hold on to their aspirin.
Seven and eight tenths percent of the folks asked needed their
blow-dryer, and 7.6 percent said they couldn't lose their personal
computer. You will note that God isn't in those lists.
He ought
to be at the top of everybody's list, but He's not.
The world,
the devil, our own sinful natures do all they can to push the Lord to
the background and everything else to the front. Indeed, every time God
says, "I want to be first," you can be sure something is going to pop up
to move God, ever so gently, ever so slowly, ever so unnoticeably, to
the side.
This is exactly why we sinners need the Holy Spirit to
hold His ground. He needs to make sure the Trinity is first and the
Savior -- the Savior who gave Himself to rescue us from damnation --
remains paramount in all that we hold to be precious.
THE PRAYER:
Dear Lord, in spite of the world's seductions, keep me faithful to You.
Help me see the world's distractions for what they are: things that
would separate me from the blood-bought salvation the Savior has won. In
His Name I pray this. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus
Lutheran Hour Ministries
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