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Themes God's Holiness THE DANGER OF "MY WAY." In the center of Moscow, the capital of Russia, is a large cluster of government buildings called the Red Square. In it stands the Kremlin where the important Russian rulers make all the laws for the nation. It is out-of-bounds for most people. There are high walls around it and it is heavily guarded. Inside is a government whose power is feared around the world. Only certain people can enter the area and only with special permission. No one would ever think of barging in unannounced for fear of their lives. Well, almost no one! One calm May evening in 1987 everyone was startled when they heard the sound of an airplane engine coming toward the Square from the south. Aircraft are not even allowed to fly over this area! Yet there it was. A blue and white Cessna 172 Skyhawk came in low and circled over the Kremlin three times. Then it buzzed over the Lenin Mausoleum and finally rolled to a stop on the cobblestones behind St. Basil's Cathedral. Everyone was amazed when out of the plane stepped a young man of 19 years of age, Mathias Rust, from Hamburg, Germany. He smiled and waved to the crowd. Then he began to sign autographs. Mathias' fun was soon over. Armed guards quickly arrested him and took him to jail. Silly man! Didn't he know the rules? Didn't he fear the power that was represented in those buildings? "I just wanted to talk with the leaders", he said, "especially the President, to tell him my thoughts about peace." But the Russians were angry. They were not concerned about "his thoughts." He had violated a national shrine by flying over Red Square. As one official said, "It is a sacred place for us." After a solemn trial, Mathias was sentenced to 4 years in a labor camp. Sadly, he had to admit that "It was the greatest mistake of my life!" Perhaps Mathias was sincere in trying to see the President. He thought it was sort of a fun way to do it too. Wasn't that the problem with Nadab and Abihu? They wanted to approach God. Though they knew His commandments they decided that coming in their own way would be different and impressive. Surely God would be happy with their new ideas. But we read in Leviticus 10 that the judgment of God fell immediately and both men died on the spot. It's a lesson we all must learn. It is better to do what God says then to follow our own thoughts, no matter how good they seem. God is holy. We must come to Him in a way that is proper and fitting with His holiness. If Nadab and Abihu were here today, they would say with Mathias, "It was the greatest mistake of our lives." Don't you make the same mistake! The Bible warns, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12). Come to God His way, through the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself to be the sacrifice on the cross. John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
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Glen Moore
