I grew up on a farm out in the country. On our little farm, we had some chickens that we raised for the meat.
One day I was outside by myself with my BB gun, practicing shooting at a target. I happened to see a chicken wandering around, and I thought it would be fun to see what the chicken would do if I shot it with my BB gun. There were several power levels you could set on the gun, and I knew the lowest one wasn’t very powerful. Since chickens have lots of feathers, I thought the chicken would hardly feel it and would just cluck and run around, more frightened than hurt. I knew it was wrong to hurt the chicken, but I wanted some excitement.
We sometimes try to see how close we can get to sin and still not sin. The Bible gives this warning about the excitement of sin: “Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away” (Proverbs 4:1515Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. (Proverbs 4:15)). But we can’t keep from sinning in our own strength: “Without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:55I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5)). However, if we ask the Lord Jesus, He will help us to do the right thing. “I can do all things through Christ [who strengthens] me” (Philippians 4:1313I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13)). I should have remembered these verses, some of which I had memorized for Sunday school.
So I set my BB gun to the lowest power level, took aim and pulled the trigger. I hit the chicken okay, but it didn’t run around clucking ... it fell over—dead!
I felt sick to my stomach. I knew my parents wouldn’t like it if they found out, so I grabbed the chicken and carried it into one of the sheds we had and hid it. I thought no one would know I had killed a chicken. But as often happens when we do something wrong, someone saw me. My little brother had watched me hide the chicken and went and told Mom.
She came out and found me, and she wasn’t very happy. I was punished right then for what I had done.
I thought when I hid the dead chicken that no one would find out and that I was safe. Boys and girls and grown-ups often do the same thing. They try to hide from God, thinking that He won’t see them and their sin. However, the Bible says, “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)). God sees everything we do and hears everything we say! We can’t hide from God. I had to take my punishment for killing the chicken, and God warns that there is more punishment after death for the sins that each one of us has done. But don’t stop here—read on.
God loves you and me, and He has good news He wants each of us to know about. He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, so our sins could be washed away. If you and I personally will believe and accept Jesus as our very own Saviour, we won’t have to bear the punishment for our sins, because Jesus bore that punishment on the cross before He died. What’s left for you and me is to spend eternity in heaven with our Saviour who loves us so much He died for us. What good news!
ML-07/21/2013