I was walking down the streets of Saltillo, Mexico when I heard a noise: plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop. It was a car coming down the street from behind me. At first it sounded like a car backfiring as it descended the hill, but as it approached I could see that the driver was driving on a flat tire. He continued on down the street-plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop- until he was out of sight. I thought: "Well, that was strange." Then moments later I noticed it coming back up the hill with the same plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop. I was amused, and thought that it was odd when, after if had again gone out of sight, I heard it again, and lo and behold here it came again- plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop-and down the hill it went till, once again, it was out of sight. On the second or third time by, I tried to get the driver’s attention, but it was no use; his thoughts were elsewhere. Maybe he was thinking, "What a gorgeous day!"
After thinking about the incident, I have come to the conclusion that there could be but four reasons why a man would drive up and down the street on a flat tire: (1) he was deaf and unaware of the world around him, (2) he was distracted by some powerful distraction, (3) he heard the warning sounds but was unable to determine the source, or (4) he heard the warning sounds but didn't care. This man reminds me of so many who should be tending to the needy, and mending broken lives, but, for one reason or another, are taking "pleasure rides" up and down the streets of life, unaware of a calling Saviour. We could take these same four points, and apply them to those who have not yet heeded the call of God.
(1) Could it be that the reason that we are not tending to broken hearts and lives is that we are deaf to the world around us and unaware of the world around us? If so, it is not because we were born that way, for only healthy babies are born into the family of God. We are "born" with healthy hearing, healthy eyesight, and a good appetite. When we are "born" spiritually, we are concerned about those who have yet not found what we have found, and we begin immediately to do something about it. Spiritual deafness comes when, instead of promptly obeying God's voice, we cause Him to continue to call so long that we lose our ability to hear.
(2) Some have heard God's call to attend to the spiritually needy, but have simply been distracted. What could so distract a person? The devil has all kinds of "toys and whistles" that will take our full attention if we'll let them. I'm afraid that there are a lot of good people who have become so distracted that they simply do not hear the call to take care of the needs of a dying world. No, it's not that they are rebellious, and do not want to; they have merely been distracted, and the Enemy is happy.
(3) There are others who hear the call but are unable to determine the source. They are fully aware that something is not quite right, but what is it? They know that their life is not fulfilled; something is not what it ought to be. So they continue to drive up and down the streets of life, back and forth, trying to figure out what is wrong. Friend, could it be that God calling you to tend to the needs of others?
(4) Yet there is another class of people. This group hear the call, but they are having too much fun "pleasure riding." They don't want their fun interrupted, so they ignore the needs of others, and go on having a good time. No, their pleasures may not even be "worldly pleasures." They are having too good of a time attending a good church, listening to good preaching, good singing, and enjoying good fellowship. There is nothing wrong with that, but what about the needs of a dying world?
As in this case on the streets of Saltillo, some are attempting to awaken us to a problem that needs immediate attention. Will you give serious consideration to God's call today? Life is too short, and the eternal destiny of souls too serious, to fritter away this life in self gratification. God is calling us ALL to do something (our part) to slow the never-ending stream of souls that are plunging daily into a lost eternity.
The analogy may be poor, but the truth remains-God is trying to call our attention to the more urgent affairs of life. The question is: Will we heed His call or continue on the pleasure ride that our life might afford?
