It was a warm July day, and Jim was enjoying watching the animals as he strolled from cage to cage at the zoo. The monkeys’ antics were amusing as usual. The seals and sea lions were splashing around in their pools and leaping high in the air to catch the fish the keeper was throwing to them. But what interested Jim the most were the lions. He had always been fascinated by them. As he watched them, they were sleepily soaking up the morning sun. They looked just like big, overgrown pussycats.
Now Jim really should have known better. He was thirty-nine years old, and by that age most people know enough to stay away from danger, even if it does look inviting. But as he stood watching the huge beasts, a very foolish idea crossed his mind. He thought that the lioness that was lying against the bars right at the front of the cage looked so gentle and tame that he just had to pet her. So he looked around to make sure no one was watching, then climbed over the safety wall and slowly walked up to the cage with his hand outstretched to pet the lioness.
Most boys and girls would know enough not to try to pet a lion or a lioness, and yet maybe you are doing something that is just as foolish and dangerous. God tells us in His Word, the Bible, how terrible sin is and warns us of the dangers of playing around with it. He warns us that “the soul [person] that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:44Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4)) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). But we still hear boys and girls and even grown-ups saying, “Oh well, everybody does it,” or, “It was only a little white lie.” That is playing around with sin, and it is even more dangerous than petting a lion! God even warns us that “your adversary [enemy] the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:88Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Peter 5:8)).
Jim decided to ignore the danger, and, reaching through the bars of the cage, he gently petted the lioness’s sleek fur. Seconds later he began screaming with pain! The lioness had reached out as quick as a flash and clawed Jim’s arm. (You probably know how much a kitten’s claws can hurt you. Can you imagine what a lion’s claws could do?)
The zookeepers came running when they heard Jim scream. They were able to distract the lioness so they could free Jim’s arm from her claws. Jim was then rushed to the hospital to have his hand and arm stitched up.
God has provided a way for us to escape from the consequences of our sins too. Just as Jim was helpless in the grip of the lioness, we are also helplessly caught by our sins. But God loves us so much that He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, down to this earth to save us from our sins. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)).
The zookeepers risked getting hurt themselves by going into the cage to save Jim, but the Lord Jesus did more than risk getting hurt for us. The Bible tells us “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:33For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (1 Corinthians 15:3)). He loved us so much that He died on the cross and suffered for the sins of everyone who will believe on Him. Won’t you accept Him as your Saviour today?
ML-01/01/2006