It has been reported that a UK supermarket withdrew some own brand bags of nuts from its shelves after the Food Standards Agency issued an allergy alert because there was no warning on the packaging that the product may contain nuts.
Whilst the warning and action may at first appear somewhat bizarre, the reason for the alert was because the bags were labelled as “monkey nuts”, which are peanuts that are still in their shells, but there was no mention of peanuts on the packets.
Peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies affecting both children and adults. The reactions of some people can be extremely distressing, including serious breathing difficulties and blood pressure problems. Consequently it is essential that there is no misunderstanding with information on the label.
Of course food labelling is only one aspect of modern life where people need clear warnings about hazards to their health and wellbeing. Most products we buy in the shops have warning labels or instructions telling us what we should and should not do with them, such as avoid operating electrical equipment in wet conditions, or don’t swallow chemicals intended for cleaning, or keep small items away from young children.
It is good and right that people should be given fair warning of anything that can cause them harm. All the more strange, then, that the greatest hazard that every one of us has to contend with is hardly ever mentioned. That is the hazard of facing eternity without God.
Some people simply dismiss such an idea as nonsense. They believe that this life is all there is and when it ends there is nothing more. Surprisingly, however, few people seem to be so confident when the time of their death is drawing near. Most are apprehensive at best or at worst, they are downright terrified at the prospect of what lies ahead. Just suppose there is a reckoning and we have to give account to God for everything we have thought, said and done in this life.
None of this fear is necessary. In fact, it is possible to embrace death as the entrance into something far better than this life has to offer. Sure, we may not like the process of dying, which may be painful and cause distress to those we leave behind, but death itself need not hold any terrors for us.
What makes the difference is recorded for us in the bible, where you can also read warnings to those who choose to ignore what the bible has to say.
That’s a lot of reading and some of what we read in the bible can be difficult to understand, but the essence of the bible’s message can be expressed quite simply and you can read it in many places on the Internet. See, for example, our own website “Most Important Thing“.
At the very least you should read the warnings about what happens when your life here comes to an end. None of us knows when that might be so we need to be prepared now.
