The flames climbed ever upward. The smoke filled the room as well as my lungs. I may have been on my last gasp when I was pulled from beneath a rafter plummeting toward my head. Suddenly I was wrapped in a tangle of arms and rubber, being dragged into fresh air. I was handed off to the Fire Chief, who wrapped me in a blanket and patted any remaining flames out.
As I was recovering, coughing the last of the smoke and soot from my respiratory system, the Chief came over. “You OK, son?” I nodded, barely able to speak from the trauma and the sheer gratitude for having been rescued. “Good. EMT’s say you’re gonna be just fine. That bein’ the case, I have a favor to ask.” I looked up, a puzzled look on my face. “ See, we’re understaffed, and we need some help. There’re more people in that building, and now that you know the way out, I’d like you to go back in and lead more people to safety before the whole thing collapses.”
My eyes widened. I just got out of there! Why would I want to rush back into the heart of danger? But then I thought about how these guys risk their lives every day for people they don’t know, and they just did the same for me. How could I refuse? So, I donned the extra gear they had on site, and I waded back into the heat.
It didn’t take long before I found another person in mortal danger. I started yelling at him to get up, get out, the way out was right over there! The guy looks up at me, looks back at the book he’s reading, and says, “Yeah, sure, just let me finish this chapter.” Then he goes back to reading! I couldn’t believe it! It was like he was completely oblivious to the destruction and danger raging all around him. No matter how I pushed or pulled, he wouldn’t budge. Exasperated and reluctant, I moved on.
Not much further was another guy, a kid, really. So engrossed in his video game, he seemed not to know what was raging all around him. I yelled at him, No response. I pushed him. Still no response. I stood between him and the TV. He just craned his neck to see around me.
I started to cry. How could these people be so unaware of the flames, the heat, the absolute raging destruction all around them?! It just didn’t make any sense.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? People surrounded by death and destruction not wanting to be rescued, to find the way out? Yet it happens all the time, every day. Maybe the danger isn’t as visible as a raging fire, or the destruction as obvious as rafters falling from above, but it’s just as real. People have embraced what was once thought of as sin in the name of tolerance. Because no one wants to rock the boat, porn has gone mainstream, premarital sex is an expectation rather than the exception . . . and the list could go on and on.
As a follower of Christ, I’m called to sound the alarm, to let people know, not so much that they’re descending into the pit, but that they’ve grown oblivious to the danger that surrounds them and to show them the way to safety. As my pastor has said, “Heaven and Hell are real places, and each one of us will spend eternity in one of them.” Most people either don’t know or don’t care. In Ezekiel, God is pretty clear about their fate: “Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives.” (Ezekiel 33:4-5) Pretty clear, isn’t it?
So where does my responsibility come in? After all, with the internet, television, and such spreading the message, why should I even try. There are so many more efficient ways to hear about Christ. Read on in Ezekiel: “But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.” (Ezekiel 33:6) I am, as a follower of Jesus, one of the appointed watchmen, and it is my duty to sound the alarm and show those who don’t know the way out, the way to freedom, the way to life eternal. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)
The fires are raging, and the world is going, quite literally, to Hell. If I know the way out, but keep it to myself, I have essentially sentenced others to eternal suffering. I can’t live my short blip of a life with that knowledge and not acting on it. I am assured of my salvation, I know that I’ll be in heaven with Jesus someday. And I’m going to show as many people as I can the way there. It’s the least I can do after Jesus rescued me from such a fate.
