Most boys like to climb trees, but quite a few girls do too. Kristin was one of those girls.
In Kristin’s backyard there was a big tree growing right next to the garage. Kristin and her friends would climb up this big tree and drop from one of its branches onto the flat garage roof. They would play up there for a while, then climb down to the ground using the fence behind the garage.
The top of this fence was about two feet below the garage roof.
There was a row of pointed, twisted steel barbs all along the top of the fence. To get to the ground the children would slide over the edge of the roof backyards, holding on as tightly as they could, until they could reach the fence with their toes, being careful to miss the steel barbs.
One day Kristin invited her friend Meg over to play. As usual they climbed up the tree to the garage roof, chased away the squirrels and played for most of the afternoon. When it was time to climb down, Meg slid down first. Then Kristin started down. But before she knew what was happening, she had slipped and lost her hold on the edge of the roof. Down she went, feet first!
Now, the garage roof wasn’t terribly high, and Kristin probably would have landed unhurt on the ground... if it hadn’t been for the fence. As she fell the sharp steel barbs caught the back of her leg, biting deeply into the flesh.
“Meg!” Kristin screamed. “Help me!” Meg just stood there not knowing what to do, watching her friend struggle. Kristin’s free leg was still a couple of inches from the ground, and she was just hanging from the fence.
Poor Kristin! Without any help from her free leg, she was stuck—and in a dangerous, painful position. No amount of struggling could loosen the fence’s hold on her leg. Her body weight only dug the barbs deeper into the skin and muscle of her leg.
This is a picture of what sin does to us. Each one of us, from the day we were born, is caught by sin. We can never free ourselves by struggling. But we can be free! The Bible says, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13). God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world to die on the cross, because of our sins. Then God raised Him from the dead, and now He is alive in heaven, waiting for you to call to Him to free you from your sins.
“Help me!” Kristin gasped again. This time Meg moved! Bending her knees she pushed up on Kristin’s back, raising her leg free of the sharp steel barb.
Both feet on the ground now, Kristin hobbled across the backyard, with Meg’s support, to the house. The ugly, deep gash just above the back of her ankle was bleeding and hurt so badly that Kristin could hardly walk.
As soon as Kristin’s mother saw and heard what had happened, she hurried Kristin to the doctor, who stitched up the cut in a few minutes. Both Kristin and her mother were glad that Meg had been there to help Kristin get unstuck from the fence.
ML-08/05/1984