Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were a long way from home visiting Mrs. Taylor’s brother, Brent, and his family. One day, Brent suggested that they go visit the historic downtown a little way from their home. There were all sorts of interesting shops in that town. One shop had different kinds of soaps, while another one had quite a variety of candy. Almost anything sweet you could wish for was in that store!
As they walked along the old cobblestone road and were about to enter another fascinating shop, Mr. Taylor was stopped by a lady outside the store and was handed a pretty little bottle-shaped foil package—quite small but prettily decorated with flowers. “Here is a sample of some juice,” said the lady, or so Mr. Taylor thought.
Mr. Taylor went into the store and found his wife and handed her the little foil bottle. “Here is a sample of some juice a lady handed to me, so I thought I would give it to you,” he told his wife.
“Oh thank you! What a neat idea! I have never seen samples handed out this way before,” said Mrs. Taylor as she opened the package. She squeezed some of the contents on her tongue and right away noticed how thick it was. Then she smacked her lips trying to figure out the taste. “Oh!” she suddenly cried out. “This tastes like lotion!” Right away she found a Kleenex and spit out the rest of what was in her mouth. Her brother Brent saw the whole episode and laughed and laughed! Once the lotion was out of Mrs. Taylor’s mouth, they all ended up having a good laugh.
Children, this story reminds me of something I heard years ago. Now first let me tell you that Mr. Taylor loves his wife very much and it was an honest mistake. But someone once said that Satan likes to give us a delicious-looking slice of cake with a little piece of glass hidden in it. Do you understand what that means? It means that there are many things you see in this world that look like lots of fun, but, in reality, they are very harmful for you. The activity might look really fun, but wait! Does it please the Lord Jesus? The Bible talks of the “pleasures of sin for a season” in Hebrews 11:2525Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; (Hebrews 11:25). In this verse, the Lord is telling us that there are activities and other things that really could be fun but in the end are very harmful for you to do.
Children, you have been bought with a price—the precious blood of Christ! You belong to Him and He has a right to tell you what to do and what not to do. And, like Mr. Taylor loves his wife, Jesus loves you very much. Unlike Mr. Taylor, He will never make a mistake and will never cause you harm by what He tells you to do. You can trust Him!
Messages of God’s Love 11/1/2020