Bill was ten years old when his father gave him a little fox terrier puppy. He named the little dog Zipper. As Zipper grew older, he and Bill were practically inseparable. Wherever Bill would go on his bicycle, Zipper would go along too, riding in the bicycle basket like a king.
The only problem was that when Bill would go into a store, Zipper would not always stay outside as he was told.
One day Bill went into a book store that was in an old building. Soon excited barking could be heard behind the bookshelves. Somehow Zipper had slipped in the door and was chasing the rats living behind the bookshelves. Bill and the clerks couldn’t find him. A couple of hours later, Zipper showed up at home, tired but otherwise okay.
The first rat that Zipper ever caught bit him through the lip, and from then on Zipper was determined to get every rat he saw! Bill’s father raised chickens, and chicken feed always draws rats. Bill would take Zipper out to the chicken house after dark, plug up the rats’ hole and turn on the light. Zipper had a great time catching those rats as Bill prodded them out of the feeder and from under the chicken roost.
We have an enemy that is far more determined and fierce than a dog after rats, and his name is Satan. “Your adversary 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)). God in love sent His Son to set us free from Satan’s power. Have you put your trust in the finished work the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished when He died for you on Calvary’s 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 not, then you are still under Satan’s power, and he is determined to keep his grip on you until your life ends in the lake of fire!
As Bill grew older, his schooling, part-time jobs and friends took his time away from his dog. Their town had no leash laws, and Zipper pretty much had the run of the town. This gave him too much freedom, and without Bill around, Zipper got into bad company.
One day, with Zipper sitting at his feet, Bill and a friend were sitting in the backyard when a police officer came around the house. He pointed to the dog and asked, “Is this your dog?” Bill told him it was. The officer said, “He’s been running with a pack of dogs, chasing sheep over on the university farm. There’s been some damage, and if you don’t keep him tied up, we will have to destroy him.”
Bill chained Zipper, not believing his small dog could do much harm to sheep. What Bill didn’t think about was how good Zipper was at chasing down and catching rats. He’d had lots of practice.
After all those years of freedom, Zipper looked so sad being chained up. Bill felt sorry for him, so one morning he let Zipper loose for a little exercise, thinking to keep his eye on him. But Zipper slipped away, and when Bill called him, he didn’t come. Zipper was never seen again.
Zipper had fallen in with bad company who led him into trouble. You and I who have accepted Christ as our Saviour must be careful that we don’t fall in with bad company and be led into a path of sin. The Bible warns us: “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away” (Proverbs 4:1415). We who have been set free from Satan’s power are instructed to follow Christ: “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:2121For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: (1 Peter 2:21)).
Whom are you following?
ML-12/30/2001