Alarms and Such

For some folks, Mondays are tough. The start of a new week after an enjoyable weekend; the switch to responsibility after being able to lay low for the weekend is, for some, a "downer." Not for me, I love Mondays. Monday spells newness; a fresh start. Mondays for me are full of "to do" lists, beginning to pick apart a new section of scripture in preparation for Sunday, and every now and again some surprises. Like today.

After dropping my daughter at school, I drove into the church office and had just entered when suddenly the lights went out and a loud and shrill, piercing alarm went off. The room I had entered (a hint; it has the word "rest" in it) was now very dark and there was no way to find the door short of feeling along the wall until I hit it. After only a mild panic attack, I found my way out, went to the church office which was the origin of the now ear shattering alarm. There in front of me was the fire alarm pannel with various lights illuminated and flashing. My dilemma; do I call "911" or the fire alarm company? I walked around the building multiple times and when I was convinced there was no fire, I called the alarm company only to find out the real culprit was a power outage in a portion of the building, which triggered the alarm. No fire, just no power. Finally, our office manager arrived and with one simple push of a button silenced the "ice pick like stab" in my ear.

It made me think of the various alarms that go off in our minds and in our hearts. There are physical alarms that tell us that we might need to get a medical work up. There are emotional alarms that alert us to the need for better stress management. And there are spiritual alarms that signal a need to be more diligent in our appropriation of time with the Lord. For me, those spiritual alarms are subtle (unlike today's). A slight hardening of heart toward people's unfortunate circumstances, a marginal indifference to missing a devotional time, a "detectable only to me" sarcasm in response to the spiritual highlights in an other's life. The real question becomes this: "Do you ignore the alarm, or do you seek out its cause?"

I view the alarm as simply another extension of grace. God doesn't "have to" alert us when we are faltering. He could allow us to go off on our merry way. But, because he loves us, and he desires us to walk closely with him so that he gets glory, he signals when there is something amiss with the system. Are you listening?