BABY sees a knife and wants to play with it. Why does Mamma say “no.” Because she knows the knife is a dangerous play-thing for a baby. He might cut himself.
Again, baby creeps up to the stove and is about to take hold of it. He has not learned that it is hot and will hurt him.
So Mamma does not allow this either. She wants to preserve him from the pain of being burned.
Sometimes little boys and girls would eat a great deal of candy and cake and other goodies. But here again their parents object, because too much of such things would make the children sick.
Still older people have seen bright, tempting looking berries in the woods and eaten them because they looked good. But when it was too late, they found out that these berries were poison.
In our picture the boy has a crab, which both the dog and the cat are eager to get hold of. They think it is something good to eat and do not know how it might pinch and hurt them if the boy could not hold it beyond their reach.
So we see that many things which look attractive, good, and desirable, when beyond our reach, prove dangerous and harmful it we get hold of them.
The same thing is true in our Christian path through this world. Some would like to have glory and fame. But God says “no.” We are strangers and pilgrims down here. He wants us to be looking on to our heavenly home. We will have glory up there. Worldly glory would only keep us occupied with ourselves, and things down here, when we ought to be setting our minds on things above. (Col. 3:22Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2).)
Some want riches. But God knows that they are often dangerous, too, and so withholds them. Many, if they had all the money they wanted would think, so much about it that they would neglect the things of God and forget about Him.
Again, Satan holds out to us the pleasures of the world which sometimes look very inviting. Yet God knows how harmful they are to His children and how they cause the soul to starve and grow lean for lack of spiritual food.
Let us ask God, dear reader, to preserve us from all these dangers. And when He does withhold from us the things we would like to have, we may know that He is doing it for our good, and preserving us from—harm we perhaps cannot see.
A look to Jesus saves the soul,
So boundless is His grace;
One look sufficeth every sin
For ever to efface.
ML 08/28/1904