Mother was ironing the dresses the girls were to wear. Eighteen-month-old Emily was watching closely. Swish, swish went the shiny iron. Soon Mother was finished and set the iron on the counter to cool while she went to tie the boys’ shoes.
Just that quickly Emily started pushing a chair over to the counter. “Oh, no you don’t, sweetheart. That’s HOT!” said Mother, scooping Emily up in her arms.
How often God gently warns us to stay away from things that would harm us. But Emily really wanted to get that iron. The next time she tried to reach it she got punished. Sometimes God must speak to us more forcibly if we continue in a wrong path. But He graciously warns us in His Word, the Bible. May we faithfully read it and carefully store it up in our hearts so that we may be kept from sinning against Him.
Now it was Mother’s turn to get dressed. Just for safekeeping, she took the still-hot iron into the bathroom with her while she got ready. Soon there was a knock at the bathroom door. Maggie needed help with a stuck zipper.
While the door was open and Mother was busy working on the stuck zipper, Emily toddled in and grabbed the iron she wanted so much.
She quickly dropped it, but she had to pay for her self-will with a badly burned hand. Boys and girls, let’s not be like little Emily, wanting what we think will please us. Let’s be like the Lord Jesus who said, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God” (Psalm 40:88I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. (Psalm 40:8)).
ML-12/12/2010