Too Close

Too Close

You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.

Hebrews 5:12

Friday had been a very long day for little Jerrod. It was his very first day of kindergarten. And even though they had taken a nap after lunch, by the time he got home from his school excursion, he was exhausted.

Jerrod’s mom gave him a healthy after-school snack. Then she said she needed to run some errands. So they set off in their SUV. First they went to the dry cleaners to pick up his dad’s suits. Then they ran by the public library to take back some books they had borrowed. Next they stopped at the video store to get some movies for the weekend.

Then it was time for Jerrod’s Little League practice. Jerrod’s mom dropped him off at the baseball field, where he practiced with his team for about an hour. After his mom picked him up from practice, they went to the grocery store so she could do the shopping for the week.

By the time they got back home, little Jerrod was really dragging. He could hardly keep his eyes open. He ate his supper, took a hot bath, put on his pajamas, and crawled into bed between his favorite Batman sheets. He instantly fell asleep.

In just a few minutes, Jerrod’s dad heard a loud thump down the hall. He ran down to Jerrod’s room to find him lying on the floor.

“What happened, Son?” asked his dad, picking him up and putting him back into bed.

“I don’t know, Dad,” said Jerrod sleepily. “I guess I just laid down too close to where I got in at.”

As the writer of Hebrews noted, a lot of us in the church do that too, huh?

—Clyde Shrode

Faithful Father, please help me to grow up in my spiritual life and not lie down too close to where I came in. Amen.