Highway Cattle

I preached up in Lunesdale on Friday evening at a farmhouse. A good number of teenagers and young adults had gathered and I spoke on 1 John 4. I still had not recovered from this cold, so I enjoyed a biscuit and cup of squash before taking my leave and driving home around 9.45pm. Somewhere between Clapham and Gigglewsick, I was startled to see a cow walking along the northbound carriageway of the A65. She was heading southbound, as was I, but the sight was surprisingly scary. Any car going north ran the risk of hitting her. My phone was not connected to the car, so a hands-free call to the constabulary was out of the question. And would they have done much about a cow on the A65? Had I possessed sufficient reserves of wit to say that a cow was walking along the A65 telling homophobic jokes, then I daresay that every patrol car within a hundred-mile radius would have swooped onto the scene, blue lights flashing, sirens wailing.

Nevertheless, myself and the car behind engaged in a warning operation for the benefit of all on-coming vehicles. I flashed my headlights, and my colleague made use of his hazards. It made for a quite a light show, and several motorists responded with an acknowledgement flash. They knew there was a danger but not its nature; they hopefully understood enough to drive slower and with greater caution, but not the details of the potential hazard, until it came in view.

I wonder if all human beings have a similarly vague and imprecise comprehension of God’s pending judgement. Why else would we so consistently fear death? Sure, some dying folk may be sad because of friends and family, others may just be afraid of the unknown, but there may also be a universal sense of dread of that which awaits us beyond the grave. It was Ryle, I think, who remarked that if the living knew as much as the dead, they would all become Christians. The godless majority may well have a dim awareness that there is a terrible accountability awaiting them; they may not articulate it, nor, sadly, understand the gospel’s generous remedy.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9