Friends Don't Let Friends Go To Hell

By Pastor Mark McAdow
Whoa! That’s an emotive, gut-wrenching, and most powerful statement! I heard it last night from Pastor Rick Warren in our 50-Day Challenge, “Be Transformed!” right before our Ash Wednesday service. It’s a take-off on the old commercial about drunk driving, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.”  Why? Because they put their life in danger and the lives of others, too.

I had a unique experience this week. I had the Enid Fire Department at the parsonage at 4:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning. No, thankfully, we didn’t have a fire, but I had a concern about our fireplace. A plumber had worked on it a week ago and I wasn’t sure if it might be leaking gas. I had been a little dizzy and had a slight headache that evening, so I turned off the gas to the fireplace and found a carbon monoxide detector in the garage, that I put two batteries in and plugged into the wall. We went to bed and about three hours later I woke up and heard it making a “chirping” sound – usually an indicator of a low battery. I went back to sleep and the same thing happened about an hour later and then a third time. I got up and Googled symptoms of carbon monoxide poising: dizziness, headache, vomiting, death. I had the first two symptoms already and I didn’t want to find out about the next two! Carbon monoxide is an odorless killer.

I called the national carbon monoxide hotline and the man who answered suggested I call the Fire Department. I didn’t want lights and sirens -- I wanted to be a good neighbor -- so I called the non-emergency number, and they came within 10 minutes. All checked out fine, and they were gone in about 15 minutes after testing all the rooms nearby. I thanked them and they suggested I buy a new detector since mine was manufactured in 2008. Oops! All’s well that ends well. I wanted to be safe rather than sorry. I couldn’t imagine the pain for those we love and who love us if they discovered Robin and I had both died in our sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning. Robin was kind enough to thank me for being proactive for our safety, even if it was 4:00 in the morning!

There is another silent killer affecting many people we know and love. “The wages of sin is death.” It is sickening people every day and killing people every day, too. Friends don’t let friends go to hell. What friend or family member is God speaking to you about? Who do you know is suffering from the side-effects of sin? Will you be a faithful friend and speak to them about Jesus? Jesus is the friend “who sticks closer than a brother.”  Remember, He is our Life and Hope. Romans 6:23 reads, “The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Let’s each be active in a sharing Jesus because friends don’t let friends go to hell.

Yours for the cause of Christ,
Pastor Mark

P.S.: I’m so thankful to all who are growing healthier in our 50-Day Challenge. May the Lord bless our Lenten season here at Willow View, as we prepare for Hoy Week and Easter.