GARY lived with a gray-haired old man whom he called “Drampa.” Many a time Gary was able to give a helping hand on the farm, and very seldom would you see him without his black and white cat. I’m afraid the cat did not always enjoy his share in Gary’s duties, but he was always ready to come back for more.
When milking time came the cat would always slip out at the back door and find his way to the barn. Even in the stormiest weather, pussy never stopped for any extra woolens, though Gary had to bundle himself right up to the ears. You see pussy had a fur coat all the time, but Gary did not have one at all.
Old grandpa had a wonderful fur coat. It was made of the skins of muskrats which he had killed some years ago in the river, and these skins made such a warm covering that even the coldest wind could not make him shiver. Gary wished that he had a fur coat like grandpa’s, but just think how many little muskrats must die to make a coat like that.
Do you remember the story of the very first coats of skins that were ever made? God made them for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. If you have read the story in Genesis 3, you will remember that Adam had sinned in disobeying God, and for this sin he deserved to die. But God Himself shed the blood of some animals which He had created, and with their skins He made clothing for Adam and Eve. So you see, they were able to stand clothed before God because of the death of another.
You must stand before God someday, little reader. Will you be clothed because of the death of God’s Lamb —the Lord Jesus — or will all your horrible sins be seen in His sight? The Lord Jesus has died, and His blood has been shed, in order that you might stand before God without one spot of sin.
Perhaps you will remember that Adam and his wife had dressed themselves in fig-leaf aprons. They might have said that they were quite well dressed already, and did not need God’s coats of skins, but I am glad that they were not so foolish. No, the little animals were dead, and their new clothing reminded them every minute that God had clothed them through death. Perhaps you might think that your sins are not so bad after all, and that you do not need the death of Christ to put them away.
Remember that God says your sins are “as scarlet,” but His love has provided a way to put them out of His sight forever, through the death of His Son.
Messages of the Love of God 12/5/1948