Don’t you love picnics? They can really be a lot of fun, especially in the spring when everything seems to be waking up from a long winter’s sleep. The grass is new and fresh and the trees have new green leaves on them. Picnics are even more fun when relatives visit and join in the food and activities. I especially remember one family picnic many years ago when I was young, like many of you boys and girls.
Aunt Mary came with her four children to spend the day with us. The three boys and three girls in our family plus our four cousins made ten children to keep an eye on and to feed. It was such a beautiful spring day that Mother and Aunt Mary decided a picnic would be a good way to keep all of us children busy and let us use up some of our energy.
We lived in West Texas in a small community of 10 or 12 families. Our dads all worked for the same oil refinery where they made gasoline. Though there was a lovely city park in Big Spring, a town only a few miles away, Mother and Aunt Mary decided to have our picnic in the country rather than to go into town. They chose a lovely meadow only a short distance from where we lived. There was plenty of room for all ten of us children to run and play.
Because my brother Dee and I were the two oldest, it was decided we should take the younger children on a nature walk while our mothers got the food ready. As we explored the area our mothers had chosen, everything went quite well . . . until another part of nature decided to wake up from its winter’s nap.
Dee was in the lead and I was bringing up the end of the line, right behind my 2-1/2-year-old sister, Jan. We were going along a trail Indian style, single file and up a little hill. Everyone had reached the top of the hill except Jan and me. As Jan passed a small bush just off the trail, a deadly rattlesnake began its frightening buzz. Little Jan froze with fear and screamed! But “big brother” was right behind to quickly pick her up, carry her to safety and comfort her.
This story reminds us of the very serious threat that Satan is to each of us. He is lurking nearby all the time. God’s Word, the Bible, warns us to “be sober [serious], be vigilant [watching closely]; because your adversary [enemy] 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). Revelation 12:99And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:9) also speaks of him as “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” Whether as the roaring lion or the hissing serpent, Satan uses sin as a tool to attract boys and girls to cause them to ruin their lives now and to plunge them into hell in eternity. The Bible tells us “the pleasures of sin” are only for a little while. It also says of those who must bear the penalty for their sins, “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.” Rev. 14:1111And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. (Revelation 14:11).
Thankfully, on that spring day I was right behind little Jan to save her from harm. Later Dee and I killed the snake. It could do no harm to little Jan then. In the same way, the Lord Jesus is nearby for every boy and girl. He will deliver you from your sins and from Satan if you will let Him. When He died on the cross, bearing the penalty for sin, and rose from the dead, He crushed Satan’s power over any who turn to the Lord Jesus for safety. The Bible says, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9).
If you have not already turned to the Lord Jesus for safety, believe on Him now and confess Him as your Saviour. Tell someone you have believed on the Lord Jesus and that He has washed all your sins away. He will do far more for you than I did or could have done for my little sister. He will save you from the penalty of your sins forever and give you power to live for Him and tell others of Him.
ML-03/14/1993