Last summer, four kittens were born on our family’s small farm. Since they are outdoor cats, in the fall they often cuddled together in the straw-lined, wooden “cat house” that my dad and brothers built for all our cats. They also huddled together close to the clothes dryer vent near the ground when the dryer was running. They liked the warm air that came out of it.
About 10:30, I stepped outside to take a short break after a busy morning. As I was standing on the door step, my sister Joy came rushing up to me with a worried look on her face. She had gone outside just a minute before I did.
“Snoopy is stuck in the dryer vent!” she exclaimed. He was named that because of his curiosity.
Not very ready to believe that he would do such a thing, I looked toward the vent, thinking maybe he had just stuck his head in a little bit to get closer to the warmth. But no; he was in the dryer vent with only his back legs and tail hanging out. My sister hurried over to him and was just about to pull him gently out, when he disappeared from view completely! One of my brothers knelt on the ground and felt around for him, but he was already out of reach. Meanwhile, I went back in the house and told Mom. She was just about to turn the dryer on but stopped.
Back outside, we called his name, hoping maybe he would change his mind and back out, but that idea didn’t work. While my sister and brothers stayed outside to make sure none of the other kittens followed him, Mom and I went into the house and downstairs to see where he was in the dryer vent hose. We wanted to disconnect the hose to get him out. We knew that he was only trying to stay warm. We also knew that what looked to him like a warm place to stay was actually a trap, and that without our help he had no chance of getting out by himself.
When we got downstairs, he had already worked his way through most of the hose and was heading toward the dryer itself. So upstairs we went again. Mom pulled the dryer forward so I could crawl over and then behind it to unscrew the hose from the dryer at the top where we believed he would be stuck. When I removed the hose, I looked down it and listened. There was no sign or sound of Snoopy anywhere!
Mom trudged back down the stairs, thinking maybe he had fallen backward and was struggling in a lower part, but she couldn’t feel or hear him moving down there either. Then she told me to look in the dryer itself. And there he was, about a foot in, as far in as he could possibly go, unable to move either forward or backward. Snoopy was TRAPPED!
I wonder if any of you reading this story find yourselves trapped, like Snoopy. Of course, you’re not stuck in the back of a clothes dryer, but maybe you are trapped in a maze of sin and guilt. You started out doing things you told yourself were harmless, but little by little you got deeper and deeper into sin. Now you know you’re in trouble, and you cannot get yourself out. God judges your sin, and because He is a just God, He cannot overlook sin. I was just like you once, too. The good news is that there is hope for you, just as there was for me!
But what about Snoopy? I called his name and I could see him wiggling, but he was very quiet and probably very scared. Reaching in, I grabbed his hind legs and carefully and gently pulled out a dust-covered and bewildered kitten. I was happy to have him back safely in my arms.
Like Snoopy, you need a Savior. God loves you and has provided a way for you to escape His wrath against your sins. About 2,000 years ago, God sent His Son Jesus to earth. Jesus died a cruel death on a cross, was buried, and rose again, defeating death and forever freeing everyone who will believe that He died for their sins. If you believe that Jesus took the punishment for your sins on the cross, God will accept Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for your sin. “The Son of Man [Jesus] is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)). “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:3636If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)). Will you let Him free you?
ML-07/08/2018