Thursday, February 19, 2015
Some of you may have heard this story which I also shared with our Spanish Bible Class last night. If you have, I hope you won’t mind reading it again. I heard it several years ago and it contains some important eternal truths we all need to be reminded of from time to time. Here is the story: [[ Little Johnny and his sister Sally were visiting their grandparent’s farm for the Summer. His grandpa made Johnny a slingshot which he promptly took out to the woods to practice. No matter how much he practiced that first day, he never came close to hitting any of his targets. Frustrated and discouraged, he started walking back to the house when he suddenly saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, and wouldn’t you know it, the rock hit the duck squarely in the head and killed it. Shocked, grieved, and in a panic, Johnny quickly picked up the duck and hid it in a wood pile; only to notice his sister had seen everything. She said nothing but the next day after lunch when Grandma said “Sally, lets wash the dishes”, she replied, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she went and whispered in Johnny’s ear, “Remember the duck.” Sure enough, Johnny did the dishes. Later in the day, Grandpa asked the kids if they wanted to go fishing but Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help me make supper.” Sally replied, “That’s okay Grandma, Johnny told me he likes helping with the dinner.” Again, she went over to Johnny and whispered in his ear, “Remember the duck”, so Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed behind to help Grandma. This kept on going for days and when Johnny could take it no longer, he went to Grandma and confessed that he had killed her pet duck. She knelt down, gave him a hug, and said “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing in the window and saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let your sister make a slave of you.”]]
Though just a children’s story, many of it’s eternal truths apply to us as well. (1) Whenever we do wrong and wherever we do it, God sees it. Proverbs 5:21 says, “For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths.” (2) If you felt remorse and asked forgiveness on the day that you sinned, God forgave you then. (Read 1 John 1:9) (3) We too have someone who snitches on us each and every time we do wrong. It is the devil, and that is why the Bible refers to him in Revelation 12:10 as the “accuser of the brethren.” He would like nothing better than to keep us always feeling guilty and miserable about ourselves because of our past sins. Nevertheless, he can never enjoy any success if we don’t fall for his tactics. Just as Johnny finally did in our story, break away from Him and out of your prison of guilt and shame. If you belong to Christ and ask His forgiveness every time you slip up, you will receive it immediately. The Christian life is a race and we must always keep looking ahead. Lets leave the past in the past.
Memory verse for the week: (Proverbs 3:13) “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding.”
