A delicious dinner of fried chicken had been enjoyed by the family’s dear old dog Rags. The children wiggled and shifted on their chairs. They, as well as Rags, knew the routine - a chapter read from the Bible and prayer after the meal. Petted and spoiled as he was, Rags had some manners. He sat during the dinner fairly patiently, only now and then licking his chops and whining softly to make his presence known. After dinner the table was cleared, the chicken bones collected in a paper bag and everything taken into the kitchen.
At last the family kneeled down for prayer. In an instant Rags was heard padding across the kitchen floor right to the bag of bones. Rattle, rattle, crunch, crunch! Rags paused and scampered back into the dining room for a peek. Yes, still on their knees! He hurried back to the bones before prayer time (his “safe time”) was over. Naughty old Rags!
“He thinks he’s a person,” laughed one of the children. “He acts like a bad boy!”
We smile at Rags’ sly trick which got him nothing but a good swat. But are not our own ways just as foolish? Can we hide a lie or naughty deed from God? “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:33The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3)).
The family of Rags chuckled at his tricks, but does God think our sinful ways are funny? “Fools make a mock at sin” (Proverbs 14:99Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor. (Proverbs 14:9)). There are no “cute little sins.” Our loving Saviour had to bleed and die for every single sin. When this lesson was realized by a little girl we know, she exclaimed, “Oh, Mommy! Did He do that for ME?” Have you understood this wonderful truth and asked the Lord Jesus to wash your sins away?
ML-01/12/1997