The Fire Swamp of Life -- The Lightening Sand

Another danger in the Fire Swamp is the lightening sand. Stepping into this lightening-quicksand represents falling into sin. The trap can look misleadingly like solid ground, but the nano-second you step there, it sucks you under in a second.

Sometimes we stumble into sin because we are just not on guard against it. Maybe we don’t notice the warning signs, or perhaps at times we choose to ignore them. In any case, we fall into sin. It is not nearly as easy to get out as it was to get in.

Slopes that are particularly slippery include pride, gossip, or the love of money. These are subtle and can sneak up on you in a split second. Sin is described as something that hinders us in the race that is marked out for us.

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,”

Hebrews 12:1

Sounds a lot like quicksand, doesn’t it? And what does Westley do the very instant Buttercup slips under? He grabs a vine and dives in after her, of course.

“I write this to you so that you will not sin.

But if anybody does sin,

we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense –

Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,

not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

1 John 2:1-2

Even when we do mess up, He is there to rescue us! It is so good to know that even though Vizzini might say it’s, “Inconceivable!” Jesus is with us all the time.

His very name, Emmanuel, literally means “with-us God.” He is always there to help us avoid falling into sin.

“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin;

the one who was born of God keeps (her) safe,

and the evil one cannot harm (her).”

1 John 5:18

(Brackets reflect where I've changed scripture to be directed at us, ladies!)

In the Fire Swamp of life, the one I want at my side is definitely Jesus. He will protect me from the fire spurts, keep me from slipping into the lightening sand, and pull me out if I do somehow manage to step into it. But we are not safely through it just yet.

There are still the ROUS’s.