One day I read a story about a brave little kitten that saved a baby’s life. Would you like to hear about it?
Kitty loved a real fight! If he could not coax anything that was alive to fight with him he would pounce on whatever else he could find and have a "pretend" fight! Strangely enough he especially liked to tussle with something long and round like a broom handle, a stick, or a nice piece of fat rope.
One day Baby was playing on the porch floor with Kitty not far away. Suddenly the kitten saw something that was long and round and black! It was not a broom handle or a piece of rope for it was alive and moving across the floor toward the baby!
Kitty perhaps did not know that it was a poisonous snake that would harm the baby, but because he loved a good fight he flew at the long black snake with all his might. The snake was suddenly surprised to find the kitten on his back, biting now here, and now there with sharp teeth, and growling fiercely.
A few seconds later Mother hurried out to the porch in answer to baby’s cries. Quickly she caught the baby up to see if she had been hurt. On one little leg she saw marks of the snake’s fangs, but it was not red nor swollen. Then she saw the kitten which the snake had killed, lying on the porch floor, his little body swollen in many places from the poisonous snake bites.
Then Mother realized just what had happened. The little kitten had not given up the fight though the snake had bitten him again and again, until he was so weak that he could fight no more. Then before leaving the snake had struck once at the baby’s leg, but his poison was gone, so the baby’s life was saved!
When I read this story I thought of One who willingly took the poisonous sting of sin and death and died in my place, the Lord Jesus! The little kitten was brave, but he did not know what he was doing. The Lord Jesus knew the blackness of my sin, and yours. He knew, too, the dreadful punishment that sin deserved, and He willingly took that punishment when He died on the cross that we might live!
Now there is no poisonous sting in death for those who have taken Him as their Savior. There is Heaven, and everlasting joy! O boys and girls, have you trusted Him?
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement (punishment) of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:5).
"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8).