When a boy has an older brother, he usually wants to do things just as well as his big brother does. My older brother, Dee, was only 16 months older than I, but he was much bigger and stronger than I was. He could run faster, throw rocks farther, and build kites better than even some of the older boys in the neighborhood. I hoped that someday I could do all those things as well as he did.
We lived in a small country community of 10 or 12 families. Nearly everyone in that community had animals. Most had chickens and some had milk cows, too. To keep all of the animals out of the flower and vegetable gardens, most homes had fences. Even front yards often had fences. At the time of this story, Dad was building a fence around our yard.
Country fences back then were not like the nice white wooden or chain link fences we see in many places today. Where we lived, most fences were made from chicken wire. Some fences were made of barbed wire, which is a twisted wire with sharp barbs that would prick animals if they tried to knock
it down.
Dad was putting up a chicken wire fence, but he was going to add a strand of barbed wire at the top and bottom. The heavier barbed wire helped support the lighter chicken wire. At the time of this story, Dad had only the top barbed wire strung and tightly attached to the fence posts. The chicken wire and the bottom barbed wire hadn’t been put up yet.
We boys were down in the pasture playing, and our game was not a nice one. We were rock fighting. Yes, we were actually throwing rocks and stones at each other, something we all knew wasn’t allowed. My younger brother Jimmy was on Dee’s side, and I was on the other side with some neighborhood boys. Our side was not very good at throwing such a long way. But one of my throws went a long way ... and with good aim. I hit Jimmy with a rock. That’s when the race began.
I knew immediately that I was in big trouble with Dee. He did not run to the house to tell what I had done; he ran after me to give me what he thought I deserved for hitting Jimmy.
I knew the only way I could beat Dee in a foot race was to have a long head start. Knowing what he would do to me if I did not win this race, I started for home where I knew I would be safe. I had gotten what I deserved from him before. Knowing that would happen again was all I needed to make good use of my head start to reach the safety of home.
I did make it home before Dee caught up with me, but things did not turn out like I thought they would. As I ducked to go under the barbed wire Dad had strung up for the fence, my forehead hit the wire. It knocked me down hard and I lay bleeding on the ground.
I had, in fact, beaten my brother home, but there was no relief or joy in winning that race. Just when I thought I had reached safety, there was the wire to knock me down and bring out the truth about what had happened. As my mother worked on my bleeding and torn forehead, the reason for my race home came out. Mother found out about our harmful, forbidden game. I was learning what Numbers 32:23 means, which says, “Be sure your sin will find you out.”
Sometimes God uses a jolt to remind us that each of us is a sinner. The Bible says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).
Have you ever done something wrong that you thought you got away with? Maybe no one ever found out about it. But there’s a verse in the Bible that says, “Thou God seest me” (Genesis 16:13). Did you know that God sees you, right now? That is a great comfort if you know Him as your loving Father and are doing the right thing. But another verse says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). God sees everything we do. God is love, but He is also light. He sees clearly if what we are doing is bad (evil) or good.
Because God loves even the worst sinners, He sent His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on the cross to pay the price for all the bad things we have ever done. If you will admit to Him that you are a sinner and believe that the Lord Jesus died to pay for your sins, you will never have to pay for them yourself. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, [you] shall be free indeed”
(John 8:36).
Who will pay the price for your sins? You, or the Lord Jesus?
Memory Verse: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36
Messages of God’s Love 4/21/2024