Have you ever tried to smuggle a candy bar into class at school or into your room at home? The reason for smuggling it in is because it is against the rules to have it there. Most teachers have the rule, “NO EATING DURING CLASS!” and most mothers make the rule, “NO EATING CANDY BEFORE SUPPER!” Candy bar smugglers usually get caught and are punished. Smuggling is a sin - even candy bar smuggling.
In Buffalo, New York, a 16-year-old boy was about to get on an airplane that was going to Chicago, Illinois. He told the ticket agent he had an 18-inch, nonpoisonous, northern water snake he wanted to take with him on the plane. The agent explained that since they did not have a suitable cage to carry it in, he could not take the snake on the flight.
A little later when the flight was announced, the boy got on after first assuring the ticket agent that he no longer had his pet.
Before the boy sat down in his seat on the plane, he took off his jacket. After carefully folding it, he placed it in the compartment above his seat and latched the little door closed. The plane took off.
A little while later another passenger happened to notice a tail sticking out from under the edge of the overhead compartment door . . . and it was moving! The passenger pointed it out to a flight attendant who opened the compartment door. The smuggled snake flopped out and down onto the lap of the very startled lady sitting beside the boy. He quickly caught the snake, and it spent the rest of the flight in a box in the back of the plane.
Airplanes have rules about taking pets on board. They must be in a suitable cage. This boy broke the rules by stuffing it in his jacket pocket. Once the plane took off he figured he had gotten away with it . . . but he hadn’t. That tail sticking out gave it away!
And you and I cannot get away with breaking God’s rules. When we break any of God’s rules, He calls it sin. Smuggling is just one kind of sin. Telling lies is another. Disobeying parents or teachers is another. Sounds like we’re all sinners, doesn’t it? Well, that’s exactly right. A verse in the Bible says, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). So there is no question about it - every one of us is a sinner, including you and me.
When the plane landed in Chicago, the boy and the box with his snake were taken to the airline’s office. He was scolded for what he had done and warned never to do it again. Then he had to sign a paper turning his snake over to the airline. They in turn gave the snake to the Anti-Cruelty Society who would find a suitable home for it.
The Bible warns us about the consequences of sin - sin must be punished because God is holy and just. The Bible also says that God loves each one of us, and He wants to forgive all our sins. But still, there’s punishment necessary for those sins. Because He loves you and me so very much, this is what He did. He sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to bear that punishment for sin on the cross: “Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:2828So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28)). If you are really sorry about your sins, confess to the Lord Jesus that you are a sinner. He promises He will forgive you, and then you will not be punished for your sins because He already was punished for them when He died on the cross and shed His blood.
Won’t you accept God’s love for you and thank the Lord Jesus for taking the punishment you deserve?
ML-01/29/1995