. . . they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:19
Joshua was an accomplished skier although a bit of a daredevil. He and his friends were excited to strap on their snowboards for the first run of season. The powder was fresh and deep and the morning air cool and crisp. It was perfect skiing weather except for the dense fog higher up on the slopes.
There was only one trail that they couldn’t ski and it was the one they had been looking forward to. The black diamond route started at the highest point in the park and extended all the way down to the lodge. The friends stopped there first, just to be sure it was closed. A big sign greeted them with the information they already knew. “Trail closed for maintenance.”
Joshua said, “Maintenance! They’re probably just painting the signs. I know this trail so well, I could go down it backwards!”
“I don’t know,” said Jenni. “If they don’t think it’s safe then we should probably come back another time.”
“Nonsense,” Joshua said. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
With that he stepped past the sign, turned around and started down the slope backwards. He shouted to Jenni, “See ya’ at the bottom, scaredy-cat!”
Once out of Jenni’s sight, he realized he was having a hard time seeing due to the thick fog. He turned himself around but never saw the drop-off. Joshua fell a long way. Fresh, deep powder cushioned the impact. That was the only good part.
When his friends realized he’d been gone too long they alerted mountain rescue. It took awhile but they eventually found him.
Joshua never skied again.
- What limitations do we face when trying to predict, “what’s the worse that could happen?”
- Why might we ignore potentially serious natural consequences and later blame others when those very consequences come about?
- Why might a person ignore God’s messages?
The Bible Bistro 