ONE day a man caught a beautiful bird and put it into a cage and gave it to a neighbor of mine to take home to his children, thinking it would please the children, and in this he was right, for the little ones were very fond of any kind of pets. The children’s mother did not like to see the little bird made a prisoner, so she asked her husband to let it fly away, but he refused.
The father was generally at home on Saturday afternoons, and as a rule was bitsy in his garden, where his wife would often join him.
One beautiful day in the summer time, they were listening to the poor little bird trying to sing behind its bars, and the mother said, “Just look at the lovely blue sky, and at that poor bird fast in its cage!”
Her husband did not answer in words but going to the place where the cage hung, he opened the door. The little bird had not forgotten the use of its wings, for it flew out at once, and went up, up, up, singing all the time, until it was quite out of sight. How happy it must have been to have its freedom once more!
This reminds us, dear children, that those who do believe in the Lord Jesus as their Saviour are just like our poor little bird— a prisoner. They try to be happy without the Lord Jesus, but it is impossible, for they are prisoners of sin and Satan, and the pleasures of the world only make us long for more, so that we are never satisfied.
The little bird could not open its prison door itself, and neither can you, dear children, free yourselves from your sins, but God in His wondrous love and grace, has sent Jesus Christ, His beloved Son, to set the prisoner free. You have only to do as the little bird did. It accepted the open door as the only way to freedom. The Door of Salvation stands open wide for you, and Jesus says, “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,” and then you, too, will sing a true song of happiness. (Jno. 10:99I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9))
May you enter before it is too late, and may you know Jesus as your own Saviour, so that when He comes, you may be ready to meet Him in the air, to be forever with Him.
ML 07/14/1912