Emphasis Preaching Journal

Several years ago the people who lived in a certain area along the Golf Coast of the U.S.A., were warned of an approaching hurricane and told to depart their homes and locality. Most people believed the weather bureau and, on their advice, left the area. Others refused to heed the warnings and decided to remain. Among the latter were two groups of people.

One group simply made light of the warnings and prepared a big party with eating, drinking, and entertainment, pretending like nothing was happening. The other group recognized the danger but felt God would protect them if they prayed, so they gathered in their local church to demonstrate their faith in the power of prayer. The hurricane hit the town with a tremendous force and both groups perished.

In this Gospel Jesus exhorts us to have the narrow-door type of faith; otherwise, he doesn't know where we are coming from. Our faith can be strengthened by the intelligence of others. To defy common sense and reject sound advice can hardly be called deep faith in God, because he often speaks to us through others. True virtue stands in the middle, which does not defy collective human wisdom nor falsely believe God is supposed to make a unique exception just for us. The Lord's voice can be heard even through the U.S. National Weather Bureau.