In the days of stagecoach travel in the old west, a company was hiring drivers for their stagecoach routes. The hiring was very competitive and the interview process for the candidate drivers was strenuous.

One of the key questions was: For safety purposes, because many of our routes are through difficult terrain requiring you to drive over narrow mountainous roads, how close do you believe you can drive to the edge on one of the roads and not go over the edge? It would be disastrous to drive off the edge of one of these narrow and bumpy roads in the mountains we must pass through, so we are concerned about your skill for the safety our passengers.

One driver candidate said, “I can drive within one inch of the edge without falling over the side.” The second one said, ”I can drive with one half of the wheel rim over the edge and not fall. I have done it.”’

The last applicant said, ”I don’t know how close I could drive to the edge and I really do not want to find out. I have always tried to stay as far away from the edge as possible.” That person got the job!

Scripture teaches us to live close to God. And the closer we live to God. The more we will seek to follow the teaching to “keep oneself uncontaminated by the secular world.” (James 1:27 AMP)

This is what Jesus meant when He prayed for the Father: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” (John 17:21)

Temptation is a strong magnet. We are constantly being drawn to live close to the world and its values rather than to stay close to Jesus Christ. But Jesus prayed for us to be “protected” from the secular worldview that pulls us away from the presence of our Father God. There is a pull to live closer to the world’s philosophy of life. The Holy Spirit is drawing us to live further from that edge and closer to God.

www.firstagcc.org Write the Pastor at PastorBill@firstagcc.org