Robby was playing outside one nice summer day. He started to get a little hungry and thought he would taste some pretty purple berries that grew along the edge of the yard.
When Mother saw the purple stains on Robby’s face, she was worried. She knew that the berries were not good to eat; they could be poisonous and Robby was not a very big boy. She took him inside and called the Poison Control Center.
The nice lady that talked to Mother told her there was a medicine that would make Robby well again. Mother did not have any of that medicine, so she took Robby to the hospital. The nurses there gave the medicine to Robby, and soon he was better. Mother took him home, and they were able to have a picnic lunch outside in spite of the excitement they had that morning.
Those berries remind me of something called sin which we read about in the Bible. The Bible tells us about “the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:1313But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13)), and that means how sin can fool you. Robby thought the berries looked like good food, but the pretty color fooled him because they were really poisonous. Satan makes sin look pretty, and he does not let you see its “poison.” But God loves you and does not want you to be deceived or fooled. God tells us plainly that “sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:1515Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (James 1:15)). Robby could have died if he had eaten more of those berries and not taken any medicine for their poison. God in His wonderful love to us has provided a remedy for sin: “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). The medicine was given to Robby, and he drank it right down just as he was told, so the poison did not hurt him. God’s remedy for you is to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). Do just as Robby did: Follow God’s instructions right now, and your sins and their poison will be gone forever.
ML-07/01/2001