The spot where we were camping in Oregon was delightful! The rugged coastline with its rocky cliffs and little tide pools, filling with water as each wave crashed against the shore, lured me out early every morning. There were so many unusual shells to collect and interesting things to watch.
As I made my way along the rocky ledges, the sea gulls would swoop and dive and squawk at me. But this morning one of the gulls didn’t fly away as I approached. As I came nearer I could see it was flapping its wings but didn’t take off. It wasn’t until I was right beside it that I saw a trickle of blood running down from its beak and a fishing line coming from its mouth into the water. A fisherman must have left his fishing rod unattended. The gull had swallowed the bait, and the bait had a hook inside that caught in the gull’s mouth. When it tried to free itself, the rod slipped into the water and caught on submerged rocks.
How many times Satan sets out attractive bait and we get caught. For bait to work it must always look like something good to the animal the trapper wants to catch. Satan is a master trapper. He’s been working at it ever since he trapped Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. There’s no way we can outsmart him. He knows just what bait will attract us and lure us into sin, and he never lets us see the hook hidden inside the bait. The only way we can be safe is to be kept by the power of God. We must trust the Lord Jesus first to wash away our sins, and then to keep us from Satan’s baits.
I tried to take the hook out of the gull’s mouth, but it started pecking and fighting me. “If you keep biting me like that, I’m just going to leave you here to die,” I told the gull.
The Lord Jesus tries to show us His love in many ways so He can save us from our sins, but if we keep fighting against Him, someday He may stop trying to win our hearts to Himself. He tells us that “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Finally I was able to get the hook out, and then I lifted the bird up onto a big rock, but he just sat there. Maybe he’s too weak now to fly, I thought sadly. It kept looking out to sea and then looking back at me. I reached up and gently smoothed its feathers. It wasn’t frightened of me now. As I continued to pet the bird, it actually seemed to appreciate it.
Then another sea gull came. It circled above us several times. Then it gave a loud cry, and the injured gull stretched its wings and followed the one who had called it.
As I stood there gazing after the two birds, it made me think of that day when our Lord Jesus is going to “descend [come down] from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16,1716For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16‑17).
Are you ready for when He comes? Are your sins washed away so that you will be included? Or will you be left behind?
ML-09/18/1994