Letters From Grandpa #73

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 73

Dearest Grandchild,

Today’s letter will involve “walking” or “taking steps”. This may seem silly because you have been walking and taking steps since you were a small child. The Bible, however, teaches that we that we should “ walk circumspectly” ( Eph 5:15). The Bible word translated as “circumspectly” is “akribos” from which we get our English word “acrobat”. The man walking a tight rope must be careful where he steps, and so do we. Or as Solomon said: “a prudent man gives thought to his steps”. “ (Prov 14:15) Everyone ought to be prudent!

Steps, of course, don’t have to be very big if you take enough of them. Arther Blessitt is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as completing the world’s longest walk. On June 25, 2012 he carried his 12 foot cross across the finish line at Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. He had carried that cross for 44 years, covered 40,000 miles, crossed 320 nations, encountered 54 wars, and was arrested 24 times. His record breaking journey began with a single step, and was continued one step at a time. Blessitt said that he did it for Christ, because “At the cross the worst of man met the best of God”. It is estimated that this historic journey involved taking 80 million steps.

A prudent man should always give thought to his steps. It is always wise to be careful how you walk. David told his good friend Jonathan that there was only a step between him and death (1 Sam. 20:3). Solomon warned that the steps of an adulterous woman lead to the grave (Pr. 5:5). Peter said that Jesus left us an example that we should follow in His steps (1 Pet. 2:21). Every step we take either brings us closer to Christ, or closer to the devil. No wonder the Bible cautions us about the steps we take.

Here in America we don’t have to worry about stepping on a land mine, but in many countries it is a serious danger. It is estimated that there are 110 million active land mines in 70 different countries. Every months 2,000 people accidentally step on a land mine. 30% of the people killed or injured by land mines are women and children. About 100,000 mines are removed each year, but at this rate it would take 1,100 years to clear all the land mines in the world (assuming that no new mines are laid).

But steps can be dangerous, even when there are no land mines around. Just received word that a long time friend of our family, Gil Contreras, recently fell and broke his leg and hip. He was 90 years old and only lived a few days after falling. The World Health Organization estimates that 424,000 individuals die each year from falls. A report released in Geneva (May 2, 2013), indicates that there are 270,000 traffic deaths each year involving pedestrians. According to a 2008 study, 20,000 people die each year from snake bites. Obviously a prudent person will be careful where they step.

Solomon said that he looked out the window and saw a young man foolishly walking toward the house of an immoral woman. He wrote: “I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment. He was going down the street near her corner, walking

along in the direction of her house”. (Prov 7:7-8). There are obviously some dangers which it is wise to avoid. Paul wrote: “flee fornication” (1 Cor. 6:18). The young man whom Solomon saw didn’t flee. He was apparently both curious and confident. He was wrong! Solomon described him as an “ox going to the slaughter” (Prov. 7:22). Some 50 years ago we butchered a thousand pound steer whom we named “Little Boy”. My father drove up from Tulsa to supervise the project. Since we had been feeding Little Boy in a bucket, he was eager to follow me to a tree in our back yard. In that tree was a block and tackle I placed there to lift him off the ground and skin him. He never looked up. He never suspicioned that this bucket of grain would be his “last supper”. Don’t forget, it is the Bible that connects the dots between a young man going in to an adulterous woman and an ox going to the slaughter.

Even a single step in the wrong direction can sometimes be fatal. In December 2015 engineer Ravi Subramanian was standing near the landing gear of an Airbus A319 at Mumbai, India. Unfortunately he took a step in the wrong direction and was sucked into a jet engine and killed. Someone asked how close you can come to a jet engine without being sucked in? The prudent man doesn’t need to know. He gives thought to the danger and stays as far away as possible. The same principle applies to avoiding the many traps that the devil has set for us.

One simple way to be safe is to stay close to the Shepherd. If you go where He leads, you don’t have to worry! The Bible teaches that: “A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.” (Prov 14:16). One example of reckless stupidity involves a 32 year old Australian named Elloie Quo. In 1989 he was told by his martial arts instructor that he had reached a level in his training that enabled him to kill wild animals with his bare hands. He foolishly believe it. So, in the middle of the night he snuck into the Melbourne Zoo and scaled a fence into the lion’s den. When he boldly put his new found ninja skills to the test, he discovered too late that he had made a fatal mistake. The next morning nothing was left of him but his cold dead hands.

The zoo is not dangerous, as you know, if you stay on the right side of the fences. It is perfectly safe as long as don’t ignore warnings. If you decide to throw caution to the wind and deliberately walk into danger, all bets are off. The same is true in every area of life. Fortunately, you don’t have to abandon Jesus. You don’t have to be “hotheaded and reckless”. You can decide to stay as close to Jesus as you want to.

As you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ you will be called upon to make many life changing decisions. “What is God calling me to do in life?” “Should I go to college, and if so, where?” “Whom should I marry?” Etc. F. B. Meyer was a famous preacher many years ago. Here is a quote from him that has helped me to follow the leading of Christ in my life.

“Never act in a panic, nor allow man to dictate to you; calm youself and be still; force yourself into the quiet of your closet until the pulse beats normally and the scare has ceased to disturb. When you are most eager to act is the time when you will make the most pitiable mistakes. Do not say in your heart what you will or will not do, but wait upon God until He make known His way. So long as that way is hidden, it is clear that there is no need of action, and that He accounts Himself responsible for all the results of keeping you where you are!.

Even thought you may have to wait for God to direct your steps. He has promised to do so . The poet has said it like this:

He does not guide me year by year, nor even day by day.

But step by step my path unfolds, The Lord directs my way. Tomorrow’s plans I do not know, I only know this minute! But He will say, “This is the way, by faith now walk ye in it”.

And I am glad that it is so; Today’s enough to bear.

And when tomorrow comes, His grace shall far exceed it’s care. What need have we then to worry or to fret? The God Who gave His Son, Holds all my moments in His hand, and gives them one by one.

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce