When our children were young, we spent our summer vacations traveling in the western states and camping in the national parks. In those days, black bears roamed freely in the parks until they got to be troublesome or dangerous. When this happened, park rangers would trap them and haul them many miles away to release them in the wild.
We saw signs posted all over the campgrounds warning,
Those that didn’t obey the first sign would sometimes come back from a hike to find their coolers or their tents ripped open and their food gone. Others that thought the bears were cute and forgot that they were dangerous, wild animals would often ignore the warning signs and feed the bears by hand. Some ended up with serious bites. Their disobedience had gotten them into trouble.
We live in a sinful world, and the prince of it, Satan, is always waiting to lure us into sin. Proverbs 14:99Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor. (Proverbs 14:9) tells us, “Fools make a mock at sin.” God’s Word, the Bible, is full of warnings and instruction for how we should behave in this world. They are meant to help us avoid the dangers and to guide us in the way that a Christian should go. Disobeying God’s warnings will lead us into greater danger than those people who disobeyed the park’s warnings. The writer of Psalm 119:1111Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11) said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”
Grizzly bears are another matter and are kept away from campgrounds. They are much larger than black bears and have very mean tempers. We once camped in a campground where, just the week before, a grizzly had broken into a tent and killed a young lady. Tents are no longer allowed in that campground. It was in that park that my two oldest children and I took an all-day hike up to Dawson Pass. When we got back to camp, we were told that it had been foolish for us to go so far away from camp. They explained that it was wild blueberry season, and grizzly bears become very upset if you surprise them when they are in the blueberry patches. Most grizzlies will leave if they hear someone coming but will charge if they are surprised. I know our Lord Jesus was protecting us that day, for we didn’t even see a bear.
Now I want to tell you an amusing but dangerous incident that I saw while walking through a campground at Crater Lake. I heard people singing, “Happy Birthday.” I turned to see a group sitting at a large picnic table that was loaded with food. In the middle was a large, decorated birthday cake. The singing had just stopped when a big black bear appeared and promptly invited himself to the party. With the people scurrying, screaming and yelling, the bear calmly climbed onto the table and sat down with his hind legs out in front of him. Then he picked up the birthday cake and proceeded to eat all of it. There he was, the master of the feast, and those who were there to enjoy it could do nothing but watch their food disappear.
And that is the way Satan treats millions of souls in this sinful world. “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)). Satan is a tempter and a liar, leading unbelievers deeper into sin and into everlasting punishment if they die in their sins. He doesn’t care about that, but God does, and He has provided a Saviour for you and me, because He loves us. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). Jesus Christ, God’s Son, died on Calvary’s cross and shed His precious blood for you and me. “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood . . . be glory and dominion forever and ever” (Revelation 1:56).
Won’t you accept the finished work of Christ to wash your sins away and be saved from that terrible enemy, Satan, whom Christ defeated at the cross?
ML-08/19/2001