Imagine for a moment that your body was made of gunpowder rather than flesh. I would bet that you would be very, very watchful to not go anywhere near a spark or fire. Any lack of vigilance could prove to be fatal!
But consider how careless we often are spiritually. We have a highly explosive sin nature that resides within is and yet we are amazingly careless at times of avoiding the spark or fire of temptation. Now, I recognize that many times temptation suddenly confronts us. We don't go looking for it; it comes looking for us. But when the temptation appears, we don't always immediately flee from it (1 Timothy 6:11, 2 Timothy 2:22). We actually attracted to the fire and move closer and the results are disastrous. The resulting explosion is hurtful to us and others, and certainly not God-glorifying. This is why Jesus told the disciples, "Watch and pray that you might not enter into temptation" (Matthew 26:41). Let's cry out for grace to be more watchful and careful when we encounter temptation.
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To take the metaphor even further, I would say not only would you be watchful, but you would suddenly see fire everywhere! People who are allergic to nuts check everything they eat. They recognize the precarious nature of their situation. Good thoughts, Jerry.
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