Advent Day 27: Skating on Thin Ice

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Skating on Thin Ice

At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the Wagner family always walked to ice-covered Pine Lake, where they would bring in the New Year under the stars as they tossed glow sticks into the air.

But this year Aiden was in a grumpy mood. Three times that day his dad had told him to do something, and even though Aiden eventually got around to listening, his father had not been happy with his hesitation.

“You’re skating on thin ice, Aiden,” Dad said. He said that a lot when Aiden was about to get in big trouble.

Now at midnight Aiden dashed onto the frozen lake. “We’re here!”

“Stay close,” Dad warned. “The weather has been unusually warm. The area around the dock is especially unstable because of the heat from the underwater plants growing there.”

Aiden threw his glow sticks in the air. Immediately the blue one skidded across the ice toward the dock area. He knew Dad had warned him about the dock area, but it was so close…

Suddenly he heard the ice crack beneath him, and he was in the water. “Help! Help!” Aiden screamed. The water was freezing, and he was sure he was going to drown.

“Put your feet down!” called Dad. “You should be able to touch bottom.”

Aiden did and was surprised to discover the water only came to his waist.

“Here.” Dad took off his coat and threw it to Aiden, still holding on to one of the sleeves. “Grab hold.”

Soon Aiden was back on solid ground. They ran back to the house, where Mom wrapped him in blankets.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” said Aiden once he’d stopped shivering. “If I’d listened to you and not gone on the thin ice… ” His voice trailed off.

“You wouldn’t have fallen into the lake,” Dad finished for him. “But you were on thin ice earlier in the day, too, remember?”

“You mean when I didn’t obey you right away when you told me to do something?”

Dad nodded. “Maybe it didn’t seem like a big deal to you at the time, but it was a sin. And sin always leads to trouble, no matter how small it may seem.”

So how about you?

Do you like to skate on thin ice? Do you see how close you can get to doing something wrong without getting in trouble? The Bible tells us if we know what the right thing to do is but don’t do it, we’re sinning—and sin always leads to trouble. Stay far away from sin by refusing to do what you know is wrong—and by choosing to do what you know is right.

Key Verse

James 4:17 NKJV "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."

Key Thought

Stay far away from sin.

Further Reading

Romans 6:18-23