Have you ever seen an animal caught in a trap? How that creature will struggle to get free, until someone comes along and rescues it. Eventually, if not rescued, the animal will die!
It was early summer, and I was upset to find a helpless little bird caught in a net in our garden. We had placed the net above the ground to protect the new, little sprouts coming up from the seeds we had planted. Somehow that little bird had gotten tangled in the net, and it was struggling to get free. He may have been trying to reach a red raspberry close by when somehow his feet got caught in the net.
When I found him, his head, wings and little beak were held very tightly by the net being wrapped around him. He was still very much alive, and the more this little bird struggled to be free, the worse the tangle became. This little fellow needed someone to set him free.
Just like this little bird, there is something that has tangled up each one of us, and there’s no way we can free ourselves from this tangle. It is called sin. The older we become, the tighter the tangle of sin wraps around us. The Bible warns us that our sins are deadly. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). And like the little bird caught in the net, you and I need to be set free, and we can’t do it ourselves—we are helpless.
It was going to take two of us to free our little feathered friend. As we tried to undo the tangle, the bird was frightened and tried to peck us. The next step was to get the scissors and cut the net away. One of us held the net while the other one cut the net away from the bird’s little body. Soon our little feathered friend was free from the net and fell the few inches to the ground! As he sat there for a moment or two, we offered him a raspberry. And he recovered quickly enough to eat the raspberry before flying off to freedom! How happy we were that not only was our little friend free from the net, but he also had eaten a raspberry and seemed to be fully recovered.
Who can free us from our tangle of sins? The Bible says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). Who is this Son who can set us free? The Bible gives us the answer: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). He is God’s beloved Son, and He willingly went to the cross where He suffered and bled and died for us. His shed blood can set us free from our sins. “Unto Him [Jesus] who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5).
Will you let Him set you free? “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
MEMORY VERSE: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
ML-06/22/2014