Five-year-old Emily walked slowly along, looking down at the sidewalk. Suddenly she stopped. What was that? Something bright and shiny had caught her eye. Kneeling down, she peered down through the metal grating along the curb. There, down in the hole underneath the grating, was a coin, and Emily wanted it.
Working her small hand carefully through the grating, she stretched her arm as far as it would reach and was delighted to find she could just reach the coin. She grasped it firmly in her small fist and then tried to pull her arm back out. But that is when she found she was in trouble. She was stuck. She could not get her hand back out through the grating.
Emily tugged and pulled as hard as she could, but the more she pulled, the more the grating hurt her. She was worried now and began to call loudly for help.
Emily was in trouble, but if you have never accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you are in far worse trouble than she was. You are trapped in your sins, and there is no way you can free yourself. Proverbs 5:2222His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. (Proverbs 5:22) tells us that “his own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden [or trapped] with the cords of his sins.”
A neighbor lady heard Emily’s calls for help and hurried over to find out what was wrong. When she saw how firmly Emily’s hand was stuck, she hurried home and came back with some butter. Smearing the butter all over Emily’s hand, she tried to make it slippery enough so Emily could slide it through the grating. But it didn’t work. She was still stuck.
Another neighbor came out with some grease for Emily’s hand, and another tried pouring liquid soap over her hand. But nothing helped, and Emily remained stuck.
Are you trying, like Emily, to get yourself out of the trouble you are in? Maybe you are trying to get rid of your sins by doing good to others, or by going to Sunday school, or by reading your Bible. None of these things can ever take away one single sin. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can set us free from the sins that have trapped us. He loved us so much that He died on the cross and shed His blood so that you and I could be set free.
Emily’s neighbors finally called the fire department, and the firemen, after much effort, managed to get her hand free from the grating. How glad she was to be able to stand up straight again and to run home to her mother.
The firemen, however, found something out. They discovered that the reason Emily could not get her hand through the grating was because she was holding on tightly to the coin she had found. If she had only let go of her treasure, she could have opened her hand and easily pulled it back through the grating, sparing herself all the fear and pain.
Are you hanging onto something that is keeping you trapped in your sins? Perhaps you have friends who would laugh at you if you came to Jesus, or maybe some bad habit that you don’t want to let go of is holding you back. Don’t let anything keep you from coming to Jesus. Let go. He wants you to come to Him right now, and He will wash all your sins away. Won’t you accept Him today?
ML-09/06/1998