Kurt and Kathy and their three children live in a large farmhouse. Kurt has worked hard to fix up the house for his family. It is a nice place to live, as there is plenty of room for the children to play and for Kurt and Kathy to work.
One evening Kathy decided that the family would have a special treat for supper - fried shrimp. She put a big pan of cooking oil on the stove to heat so she could fry the shrimp. Then she decided to take a shower, and she forgot about the pan of oil heating on the stove. Kurt and the children were in the living room and did not know that Kathy was heating oil on the stove or that she was in the shower.
Have you ever forgotten something? I’m sure most of us would have to answer “yes.” Sometimes we forget a name or an important date or where we placed some object, but usually it does not cause a big problem. But sometimes forgetting can cause serious problems. The Bible warns us, “Beware lest [you] forget the Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:1212Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (Deuteronomy 6:12)).
What about the problems that are ahead for you if you forget God and do not take His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as your Saviour? The Bible says that “the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:1717The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. (Psalm 9:17)). What a solemn result to consider!
Kathy’s forgetting about the oil heating on the stove had a serious result. Suddenly there was a very loud explosion in the kitchen. The oil in the pan had gotten so hot that it exploded! Kurt ran to the kitchen, calling for Kathy. He saw right away that the area around the stove was in flames.
This was a serious emergency, because Kurt and Kathy lived several miles from the closest fire department. Even though they called 911, they knew it would be some time before help arrived. Kurt remembered they had two fire extinguishers upstairs in the house. And it took only a few seconds for him to run for those two extinguishers.
Kurt was able to get the fire under control by using the extinguishers on it. By the time the fire department arrived, there were only a few small sparks left of the fire. How thankful Kurt was that he remembered they had those fire extinguishers!
The Bible warns us of the serious result if we forget God. Ecclesiastes 12:11Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (Ecclesiastes 12:1) instructs us to “remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” When you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you can know for sure that He will not remember your sins: “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:1717And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 10:17)). That is a far happier result.
ML-06/11/2000