Thin Ice Sign, February 3 Daily Reflection

Sign by a frozen pond

From the banks of the pond we throw the stones,some skid across layers of  ice and others sink. The ice is in patches and scattered throughout the surface of the pond. The sign is there so we don’t test that water with our feet, slip and fall in to the pond. One would not truly know where to step and where not to step.

Our faith is like thin ice on a pond. Sometimes we throw our stones and know without a doubt it will be held upon that ice, you have that intuition. Other times you have no idea if that stone will sink and you will go down with it. We as believers have to trust the authority of the one who placed the sign before us. God has given us the Bible as a sign, a way to talk to us about how to live our lives, the way to walk daily with Jesus and places not to walk, the temptations of evil.  Walking towards the evil we are treading on the thin ice, it draws us in with the illusion that we can stand on top of it and have the control not to fall and yet we all know for a fact if you stand on thin ice it will crack and we will sink into the depths of despair and loss of direction, drowning in the deep, dark, cold waters of evil. Yet many of us are tempted to take that walk.

However, if we trust the sign that tells us there is danger on thin ice and listen to the words of Christ, the goodness and kindness of others will warn us but not only warn us they will lead us far from the thin ice to the safety of the banks of the pond.  Walking with Christ is not always safe many are hated because of this belief that we must treat all with dignity and respect; widows, orphans, imprisoned and the poor. We must love our neighbors no matter who they may be. Christ’s plan is not always safe but it is good and in good one finds the ultimate authority, the love of God. God does not want to be the authority that dictates our lives. God wants us to desire goodness, to want to love others and do good works. The sign is there to help us in our humanity.

The sign was placed there by an authority one more knowledgeable than us about this matter but the choice is still ours. God places the signs everywhere in our lives but the choices are still ours, for God has given us freewill.

So what will your choice be today? Will you choose to let the temptation lure you out on to  the thin ice and draw you in or will you stay on the banks and trust in God, do what is right and good for all and walk away from the temptation of the thin ice?