Six-year-old Brevin heard the wail of the siren. “Please, Mom, let’s go down to the basement!”
There had been tornado warnings all morning and some even the day before. The weather had been quite warm for late November, and now it was raining with strong winds. Weather reports were warning people that weather conditions were ripe for tornadoes to form in the heavy clouds.
Brevin’s mother heard the tornado siren too. She looked out the window and thought everything looked calm. She decided it probably was just a tornado drill. Then she went on about her kitchen duties, even though the radio reports were giving constant warnings of what could quickly develop.
God gives us warnings in His Word, the Bible: “There is a way which [seems] right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:1212There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12)). God isn’t talking about tornado warnings; He’s talking about sin and the end result if people will not believe and act on His plan of safety through His Son Jesus Christ. Many ignore God’s warnings about punishment for their sins and decide they’ll worry about it later. They tell themselves they’ve got plenty of time.
But Brevin, his mother and 11-year-old brother certainly did not have plenty of time to act on the warnings they were hearing. Brevin believed what he had learned in school and once again said, “Please, Mom! This is what they teach us in school: ‘When you hear the siren, you need to go somewhere safe!’”
Finally, to satisfy Brevin, she grabbed a rolled up mattress pad to use for protection over their heads, and she and the two boys went down to the basement. Only minutes later, a tornado slammed into their house and leveled it, along with most of their neighborhood!
As quickly as possible, rescue workers began digging through the ruins of the homes, searching for people who were trapped underneath the piles of collapsed and blown-apart houses. When the rescuers began digging through the rubble that was once Brevin’s family home, they found the three of them all safe in the basement. However, the three were dazed—not sure where they were or what had happened. They were taken to a church where they would be given first aid and cared for, along with others who had survived the tornado’s destruction.
The family knew they had much to be thankful for, especially because Brevin had insisted they go to the basement. A nurse volunteering at the church told a news reporter, “This family is alive today because of Brevin insisting they follow what he had been taught at school.” Brevin had believed what the siren warnings meant and followed the safety instructions he had learned.
There is a lesson to be learned from this smart, six-year-old boy. He believed the warnings and followed the safety instructions. God tells us, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). There is a consequence for our sins, and it is everlasting punishment in that awful place called hell. We all deserve that. But God loves each one of us and has made a way of safety so you and I can be cleansed from every sin. His Son Jesus went to Calvary’s cross where He took God’s punishment for sin, so that you and I can be forgiven and spend eternity with Him in heaven. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:1515This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)).
Do you believe what God has said? Have you followed His safety instructions by accepting Christ Jesus as your very own Saviour? Don’t wait! You may not have much time.
ML-03/23/2014