WET PAINT!

You saw the sign. It said, "WET PAINT!" So, naturally, you had to take a closer look. "Yeah," you thought, "It does look like it is still wet." But, you wondered if it had dried completely. Perhaps it would not rub off at all. You could not contain yourself. You just had to touch it and find out! Just you had suspected...you have paint on you now! As my five year old likes to say, "Well, duh!"

Human beings are hard to figure out sometimes. If we see someone staring up into the sky, we look up, too. When we stand waiting for an elevator, it is never enough that someone has already pushed the "up" button. We have to push it, too. We just can't leave well enough alone.

Why are we this way? No matter how independent we may be, there are times when we are going to be followers. If this were not true, we could never hope for heaven. Our salvation rests on the very principle of discipleship. Since we are followers, worshipers, and disciples...signs matter! Friendships matter! Commandments matter! Choices matter!

In one of Christ's discussions with the apostles, referring to the religious error of the Pharisees, he said, "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matt. 15:14). Jesus was relating the simple principle that reminds us don't have to learn the hard way.

It is our stubborn pride that often leaves us walking away painted. We were unwilling to listen. We were unwilling to yield. We were unwilling to consider the inevitable direction of the path we were walking down. When our lives seem to be filled with more questions than answers, rather than do our own thing, the better solution would be to trust in God. Our way is the wrong way. God's will has been given to us so that we will not fall so far and hurt so much.

So consider the purpose of the sign, and make the application. "WET PAINT!" means "WET PAINT!"

"And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." ~ 2 Peter 1:19