In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives a little animal called the ermine. He is from the weasel family and is famous for his snow-white fur. White ermine fur is very valuable and is often used on the robes of kings and judges — the white being emblematic of purity and honor. The ermine is very careful of his white fur coat and protects it against anything that would spoil it.
It is said that the fur hunters take cruel advantage of the ermine’s care to keep his fur clean. They do not set a trap to catch him, but instead they find his little home — a cleft in the rock or the hollow of a decaying tree and smear the entrance and inside with dirt and unclean matter. The dogs then start the chase and the ermine becomes frightened and hurries toward his home which is the only place of refuge. When he arrives he finds it covered with uncleanness and he will not soil his pure white coat. Rather than go into the unclean place, he turns and faces the barking dogs and preserves the purity of his fur at the price of his life. He would rather die than be unclean.
What a lesson this is to us, and it would make us think of many dear men and women, and boys and girls, who have been followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, and rather than do that which was displeasing to the Lord, they have laid down their lives.
We read of a little boy who lived in Chicago, about one hundred years ago, who was going on an errand for his mother. Some wicked boys asked him to go into an orchard and steal some apples for them. This dear boy told them he couldn’t do such a terrible thing because he was a follower of the Lord Jesus, but they told him they would duck him in the pond if he didn’t do it. He still refused to steal and as a result the boys pushed him into the pond and he was drowned.
Perhaps you, dear Christian reader, may not be called upon to lay down your life, but you can live each day in a way that will be pleasing to the Lord, if you ask Him to help you.
ML 12/16/1956