Stay Off the Ice!

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? ~ Romans 6:1-2

There is a large variety of cultural differences in America that depend on your location. If you live in Florida, you could expect conversations about things such as a fast-paced life, football, and Disney World. But if you were to move Northward, you’d begin to see large cities become further spread out, agricultural fields, and a slower way of life. What you would not hear about until maybe Northern West Virginia (if you were on the East Coast like me), is kids skating on ponds and lakes.

Come late fall and winter, many Northern states begin to see their fresh water sources transform into thick sheets of ice. Kids can go out on skates, put up hockey goals (something else you don’t hear about in the South much), and have a bit of seasonal fun. Most of the time, the ice is thick enough to where there not be a care in the world, but at times, there have been stories of people not that fortunate.

At one point in my life, I had heard a Northern friend speak on his own experiences of skating on the ice. He told me that the weather was warming but looking to make use of the family pond for a few more days, he headed out onto the ice, despite his mother’s warning to “stay off the ice.”

The story goes, he skated and shot goals for a long while before deciding to call it a day. So he skated back to the same location he had entered the lake but suddenly found himself inside the water.

Unexpectedly, the ice had broken. Now, obviously, if he was telling this story he made it out, but he described it as a near death experience. He said that his body began, almost instantly, shutting down in the presence of the frigid temperatures. Although, he managed to escape.

Thinking back on story, I think to the similarities to the lives of Christians today. We often hear sermons about how works do not define our relationship with Christ and amen for that! Nonetheless, some feelingly overexcited in their new found freedom use it as a license to sin, even though Scripture warns us to “stay off the ice” (2 Timothy 2:16).

Grace was not given as a free gift for us to try and get a few more good days of debauchery out of the ice we skate. Grace was given to glorify God and as a means of living unto good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Our Heavenly Father wants better for us and does not want us to skate His love until eventually we fall in, grasping for His gracious hand (Matthew 14:30).

He wants you to be transformed and live in the new, warmer seasons of life on the solid ground (Romans 12:1-2). So-

Stay off the ice.