How many of you have ever played the game “conkers"? It is an old-time game that your fathers and grandfathers may have played. Your grandfather probably played it with chestnuts. But it can also be played with any kind of a nut—walnut, almond, or even a buckeye or a horse chestnut.
To play the game you look for the biggest, hardest nut you can find. Then you drill a small hole through it, pass a string through the hole, and tie a knot at the end so the nut doesn’t slip off. The string should be about two feet long and is used to swing the nut. The object of the game is to hit someone else’s nut a good “conk” to see if you can break it. If you can, then your “conker” is the winner.
Freddy loved to play conkers. He was always looking for the biggest, strongest horse chestnut he could find. He had one old “toughie” which had won many games of conkers. He always carried that one with him, especially when he went to school.
Freddy was a Christian and knew he should have been paying attention to what the teacher was saying, but he wasn’t. Instead, he was thinking about conkers. Every chance he got, when the teacher wasn’t looking, Freddy was challenging all the boys within whispering distance to a battle of conkers after school.
A message was delivered to their teacher, Mr. Parker, asking him to come to the office for a few minutes. As he left he instructed the class to continue working on their math problems until he came back.
The door had barely closed behind Mr. Parker before a dozen conkers were taken out of a dozen different pockets, all on strings, ready for action.
Whack, whack, crack! Freddy’s “toughie” was more than a match for the others, and pieces of chestnuts soon were flying all over the room.
“Psssst!” someone warned. Conkers and strings disappeared into pockets, and a dive was made for the broken pieces. Then all heads were bent over math books again as Mr. Parker walked back in.
Walking up to the front of the room, Mr. Parker noticed a broken horse chestnut on the floor that had not been picked up. Looking around the class, he asked, “Did any of you play conkers while I was gone? You know there is a school rule that doesn’t allow that game to be played at school, inside or out. It can be a dangerous game, because flying pieces of nuts can easily put out someone’s eye.”
Freddy had not thought about that before. They really did swing their conkers hard. Sometimes they would get hit on the hand, and he knew how much that hurt. But he never thought about getting hit in the eye.
No one answered the teacher’s question; everyone just kept quiet.
Freddy was fighting a battle in his mind. He knew that it was wrong not to admit that he had been playing. But he also knew what the other boys would think, and he didn’t want to “squeal” on them either. Freddy had become a Christian when he made the decision to follow Jesus and had accepted Him as his Saviour. The battle that was going on inside of him was between “old Freddy” who said, “Don’t admit anything,” and “new Freddy” who said, “Keeping quiet is the same as telling a lie.” Every Christian has been through this battle between their “old nature,” which Satan rules, and their “new nature” which God rules. The “old nature,” tells us to forget about God and His Son, the Lord Jesus, and what pleases Him, and the “new nature,” which each person receives the moment he becomes a Christian, tells us to do what is right and honest and would please God.
Satan had won when he had gotten Freddy not to pay attention in class. And, as usually happens, one sin leads to another, and Satan had a second victory when Freddy played conkers during school, breaking the rule. Now Satan was trying for a third victory by making him want to tell a lie.
Mr. Parker had been a schoolboy himself once. They weren’t fooling him. Without saying another word he went to the blackboard and wrote:
conker
conquer
conqueror
Then turning around, he asked, “Are any of you going to let yourself be beaten by a little chestnut?”
Freddy knew what Mr. Parker meant... was a chestnut going to make him tell a lie? He knew deep inside that all the games he had won with his winner conker were not worth displeasing God by not telling the truth. He would probably lose his conker, but he didn’t want to tell a lie by keeping quiet.
“Mr. Parker,” he said, raising his hand and at the same time feeling his face turning red, “I played with my conker while you were gone.”
“Bring me your conker,” Mr. Parker said firmly.
Freddy sadly obeyed, handing over his winner with its string.
“Thank you,” said the teacher, “but the game of conkers is not played by only one person. Some of you other boys were also playing in here this afternoon, but none of you have the courage to admit it. All the boys in this class, except Frederick, will get extra homework tonight!”
Even though Freddy knew he was going to “hear plenty” from the other boys, he was relieved that he had spoken up, not only because he wouldn’t have extra homework, but mostly because he had told the truth. He had obeyed his “new nature” and had been honest.
How happy you will be if you admit to God that you are a sinner, and ask Him to save you from your sins. He has said in the Bible: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9). God has provided a way for each of us to be saved from our sins. Freddy had accepted that way, and God had helped him win his battle.
You can have that help too, if you accept the Lord Jesus as your Saviour. You will know also that your sins are forgiven, and you are on your way to heaven.
ML-06/26/1983