“Dad, do you think you could fix my washing machine?” Esther asked as we talked together on the back porch where the washing machine stood. “But if you try, please be careful. You know we’ve killed several rattlesnakes and scorpions lately. I’ve seen a couple of black widow spiders, and I hear there are quite a few copperheads in this area.” Esther knew that something like a washing machine sitting outside on a porch would be an ideal place for any of these dangerous creatures to crawl into and hide.
With a warning like that, I was on my guard as I tackled the job.
It was necessary to lie on my back and reach up inside the machine to get at the part that needed repairing. All the while I was on the lookout for the poisonous creatures Esther had warned me about. After two hours of work, the machine was repaired, and I had not met up with any poisonous snakes, spiders or scorpions. But what I had not seen were two tiny ticks that had burrowed their way into my back.
Sometimes our lives are like that too. We manage to avoid the big sins; we don’t murder anyone or rob a bank. But what about the “little” sins that burrow into our hearts and minds and produce an unkind word, disobedience, a lie or jealousy? Sometimes we don’t even notice these things, but they are all sins just the same and do a lot of damage.
Two days later when we left Esther’s place, I still did not realize that I was carrying a couple of ticks. It was not until that night when they started to swell and itch that I noticed them. I couldn’t reach them in the middle of my back, so my wife carefully picked them off for me, but they left two hard, itchy lumps.
Hopefully, they’ll go away soon, I thought and tried to forget about them. And we usually try to forget about our sins. But that won’t make them go away. Only the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ can remove our sins. The Bible assures us that “the blood of Jesus Christ His [God’s] Son cleanseth us from ALL sin.” 1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7).
We’d been back from our trip about a week when one day at work I broke out in an awful rash. All over my body were strange red circles, and the itch was terrible. I called the doctor and he told me to come in immediately. He looked me all over, got out his big medical book and started flipping pages. After he asked a lot of questions and learned that I had been bitten by two ticks, he said, “I’m going to treat you for Lyme disease.”
The doctor gave me an injection and a prescription for special pills. It ended up being very expensive to get rid of the Lyme disease caused by two tiny ticks. But it takes only one “little” sin to separate us from God, and there is nothing we can pay to get rid of our sins. The gift of salvation that God gives to every repentant sinner is absolutely free for us. But it was very, very expensive for God. It cost Him His beloved Son, and it cost the Lord Jesus everything He had. He gave His life on Calvary’s cross so we could be forgiven. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Ephesians 1:77In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:7).
What are you going to do about your sins, even the little ones you have forgotten? Either you must thankfully accept the death of the Lord Jesus as payment for your sins, or you must accept the punishment for them yourself in the lake of fire. Which will you choose?
ML-07/17/1994