12 Mar
An Illustration from the “Throne”
I have an embarrassing confession to make. Sometimes those of us who are in preparation for ministry have some weird quirks. As an example, I sometimes like to challenge myself to find sermon illustrations in situations where I have nothing better to do. For instance, when I am sitting in traffic or studying at the library or shopping at the grocery store, I like to keep my “preacher senses” sharp by trying to observe and find sermon illustrations in that particular situation.
One of the more embarrassing and dorky situations is trying to find illustrations in the restroom. I know it sounds weird, but it’s amazing how many you can find. The example I am going to give you is one of the most recent observations I’ve made.
The other day I saw a bottle of Clorox wipes. On the front of the container, it indicated the wipes are good for cleaning surfaces and killing germs. It even claimed to kill the flu bacteria. It said that it was useful for keeping kids safe because it kills the germs before the germs make the kids sick. It sounds like a great product and it is – but there’s a hitch. It has to be used according to the instructions on the back of the container. There’s a warning label there that tells consumers to keep the wipes away from children because if the Clorox wipe comes in contact with a child’s mouth, it can cause them to get very sick, perhaps much sicker than the flu. So what you have is a product that is very good but if misused can bring great harm. The only way to know how to use it and how not to misuse it is to read the instructions on the label.
This led me to think about the Christian life. How many times does God give us something that is meant for good and then we misuse it?
This could apply to most anything, but let’s take sex for example. God has created sex as a part of His plan for the world. It is something that is useful in that it helps to populate the earth. It is also something pleasurable that God created to occur between a husband and a wife. We have a natural desire for sex and it is a good, God-given desire. But you almost can’t count the number of ways in which it can be misused. Whether it is pre-marital or extra-marital sex, or if it is mere lust that causes us to commit adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:28), it is a misuse of what God created and it causes harm to us – be it sexual disease, emotional heartbreak, or any number of other things. The only way we can know how to use it and how not to misuse it is to read the instruction manual, God’s Word.
I think of all the times that I’ve misused something that God created for my good. If I had only listened to His Word, I could have avoided a lot of trouble in the process. We just need to hear God’s Word and obey it.
All of Scripture is breathed out by God himself and is profitable to us for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that we can be whole and complete, totally equipped for that which God has for us. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
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Filed in: Relationship, Responding to God, Temptation
About the Author
Andrew Hebert is a student at Criswell College. He enjoys reading, eating Mexican food, watching the Houston Astros, and listening to any kind of music. He and his wife, Amy, reside in Dallas and are expecting their first child in June.
