Tap-tap-tap! Mr. Woodpecker was hard at work. He had found a nice tall tree that he thought was just right for raising a family. We were happy because he was working right outside our kitchen window, and the family loved to watch him working while we ate our meals.
Mr. Woodpecker made a hole in the side of the tree so that he and Mrs. Woodpecker would have a safe place to build a nest. Mr. Woodpecker wasn’t the only one that thought he had found a good place for a nest. Every time he left, another bird would start to use his hole to build its own nest. How we laughed to see Mr. Woodpecker come home and chase the other bird away. Then he would busily pull out all the grass and clean his hole out so that he and Mrs. Woodpecker could build their own nest. But the next time he left, another bird would start a nest, and Mr. Woodpecker would have to clean out his hole again.
Then one night we had a storm. We saw lightning and heard the loud thunder. How the wind did blow! After the storm passed, we went back to sleep. But when we got up in the morning, we had a big surprise. Right outside our kitchen window a tree had fallen in the yard! Well, it wasn’t a whole tree, but one of the four big branches in Mr. Woodpecker’s tree had broken off in the wind. The hole he had made for his nest made a weak spot in that branch, and the storm had broken it off right in the middle of the hole. Poor Mr. Woodpecker. All his work was wasted.
God tells us there is a storm coming for the whole world. It is a storm of judgment from Him against sin. God has said that He has “appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:3131Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)). Are you a sinner ready to stand before a Judge who hates all sin and evil? A verse from the Bible says, “O mighty God . . . Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and [cannot] look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:12-1312Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. 13Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? (Habakkuk 1:12‑13)).
Mr. Woodpecker knew that he needed a safe place to build his nest, but the place he chose was not as safe as he thought. Are you trusting in your parents’ faith to save you from your sins? Do you hope that going to Sunday school or learning Bible verses will take away your sins? These things are just like the place Mr. Woodpecker chose for his nest. They will not keep you safe through the storm. Your work will be wasted.
ML-08/05/2001