Be Careful

 
Not too long ago, my three-year-old grandson played on the deck with a dishpan full of water.  He was splashing his toys in and out of the water.  As you can imagine, the area around him became wet.   He spotted another toy and jumped up to get it.  When he returned to the dishpan of water, he was unprepared for the wet area beneath his feet.   

He fell and I mean hard.  

It was one of those cartoon falls, where his feet hit the water and he became airborne for a second before coming down with a thud.  

He stood up as quickly as he fell, but his face revealed his emotions.  He was embarrassed, hurt, and confused.  

From across the deck, I watched this all play out and I asked the question.  "Are you okay?"

When his eyes met mine, he burst into tears and ran to me.  I held him in my lap and reassured him that he would be okay.  After a few minutes, his tears stopped, and he climbed down and went back to his play.

My warning to him as he headed right back to the wet area on the deck was, "Be careful."

In Ephesians 5:15-17 (ESV), God is watching over us as a loving Father saying the same thing, "Be careful."

Look carefully then how you walk, 

not as unwise but as wise, 

making the best use of the time, 

because the days are evil.  

Therefore do not be foolish, 

but understand what the will of the Lord is.

My grandson returned to the wet area on the deck to play, but something changed when he approached the place that had previously caused him pain.  He walked cautiously to the dishpan to retrieve his toys.  He didn't want a repeat of the earlier incident.  

Oh, how amazing our lives would be if we could learn to tread lightly in the "slippy" areas of life.

This scripture from Ephesians tells us to be wise, make the best use of our time in these evil days by not being foolish but understanding what God's will is for us. 

Then as we go out into the world and live our lives we should, "Be careful."