The Soul Anchor [Hebrews 6:19] - March 1, 2024
Sometimes on my way in to church I drive by Maryland Elementary School and recently was kind of surprised to see a sign on the corner of Maryland and Karen Streets which is right next to the school saying, “No Student Drop off or Pick up.” As someone who lives not too far from an elementary school myself and all of the traffic that goes with that I certainly understand the sentiment. You don’t want to be disturbed by all of the vehicle and foot traffic that comes with living next to a school. I was interested to note that on the sign there was no law or ordinance cited on the sign. There was nothing that said “by the authority of …” don’t park here. There was a part of me that wanted to recruit a child and drop them off there just to see what might happen. Now in all honesty it may be perfectly legitimate for the neighbors to prohibit people form parking there. It may be a private street or there may be some ordinance that says you can’t legally park there. But I wonder how many times we allow our personal behavior to be altered by someone who really doesn’t have the right to. When I was in college I had a friend who was a psychology major and as part of an experiment he put up a handmade sign over a well-used drinking fountain on campus that simply read, “Do not drink from this drinking fountain.” He watched from a distance, and no one drank from the fountain which was working just fine simply because someone put a sign there. Have you ever received fashion advice from a salesclerk trying to sell you something, “That looks just wonderful on you, and you believe them?
Realistically, it is often good to listen to friends and trustworthy experts in various positions to help guide us through life. However, regarding the weightier things in life it is critical that we find our purpose and mission from a reliable source.
In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 it says,
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
In all things we do we should operate under the authority of the Scripture. In probably the last statement Jesus made before ascending to heaven Jesus cited his own authority. Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said,
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
God bless,
Pastor Frank