Riding the Rumble Bars

You know those things on the side of the highway? The grated places on the shoulder? The ones that are designed to startle drivers into awareness so they correct and get back on the road? Ned says they are called "rumble bars". I love those things. One of my favorite things to do is wait until he just gets settled into the seat next to me, until his head quits bobbing side to side, and until that horrible, awful, loud sound of snoring begins to come out of his mouth. I let him sleep for awhile and then when it is close to time to stop, or time for him to drive, I just let the car ease over onto the rumble bars. He tells me it is not funny to see a 300 lb. man try to climb onto the dash of a little Ford Fusion. (I beg to differ). He tells me the sound startles him awake because it is usually the "last thing you hear before you die", hence his aversion to the sound. One time, he gave me a big long lecture, er...discussion, about the reason behind the rumble bars. He explained they were designed as both a warning and an alert. He also threw in the "Little Girl Who Cried Wolf" story.
While driving on them is cheap entertainment for me, I do realize they are a warning. And thanks to Ned, I also realize that warning should not be taken lightly. I know if I do that every time, Ned will get used to it and he will not wake up. I might have fallen asleep or be unable to correct the wheel and it could mean disaster for both of us.
I think we, as Christians, sometimes look at God's warnings the same way. He warns us to "flee the very appearance of evil". "Guard our hearts" "Test the spirits" "Watch and be ready". We know that evil is bad and dangerous. We know that our hearts are the "wellspring of life", we know that there is only one Spirit and one Word and any other is dangerous. We know Jesus could return at any time. And while, sometimes we heed the warning, sometimes, we just smile and keep on driving. The problem is that we can become so used to the sound of the warning, that it has no impact on us. If there was roadwork and one was forced to drive on the shoulder for several miles, I daresay the sound would be less annoying, less startling and less noticeable after the first mile or two. The same thing can happen when we get so used to the spiritual warnings that they become merely background noise. Perhaps it is time to wake up and pay attention, time to correct our drive and get back on the road, where it is safe and the only sound we hear is the hum of the wheels and the music from the radio.

Neva