One day last spring, an object lesson walked right into my yard. Do you know what an object lesson is? It’s something in nature or something that happens in this world that can teach all of us - boys and girls, and dads and moms too - an important lesson for our hearts.
So what was my object lesson? It was a turtle. It wasn’t the one- or two-inch type that you might buy at a store to take home for a pet. It wasn’t a larger box turtle or painted turtle either. This was a big female snapping turtle! Her shell was about fifteen inches across - bigger than the plates you use on your dinner table. She had crawled out of a nearby pond to find a spot where she could dig a hole to lay her eggs.
A snapping turtle is not very friendly; in fact, it’s not friendly at all. If you poke a stick at its head, it will snap at the stick with such speed and force that it can break the stick in two pieces. A snapping turtle is not the kind of a creature you want in your backyard. I was afraid that it might harm one of my dogs, so I decided that I should do away with the turtle. Once it was dead, I carried it on a shovel and laid it upside down on a pile of ashes where I had burned some brush a few days earlier.
Now I’d better tell you how this turtle is an object lesson. It is an object lesson of a very important, three-letter word - SIN.
First of all, snapping turtles are very, very ugly. And so is sin. The devil would like you to think that sin is pretty and fun and exciting. He is a liar, but the Bible speaks the truth all the time. It tells us about the hurt and pain that come from even just one sin, and it declares the awful end of each one of us who have sinned: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:44Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4)).
The Bible does speak about “the pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:2525Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; (Hebrews 11:25)). But it also faithfully warns us that the enjoyment that we might think we are going to get from doing a sin is only “for a season”- for a very short time. Sin never satisfies. It only makes us want more, and that’s how we get caught in its trap.
Several weeks later I had more brush burning to do. Guess what I found this time when I went to the pile of ashes: The turtle’s shell was full of millions of tiny worms called maggots that were feasting on its dead flesh. And did it ever smell horrible!
You know, if you want to sin, you have plenty of company in this world. Every boy and every girl is born with a sinful nature. Sooner or later, that sinful nature shows itself when we sin. “There is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22-2322Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:22‑23)). And sinners not only like to sin themselves, but they enjoy seeing others sin too. “Knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:3232Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (Romans 1:32)).
I did my brush burning. Some of the maggots were destroyed. But when the fire had died down, there was that turtle shell looking almost unharmed by the blaze. Then I saw something else that really amazed me: Inside that turtle shell were dozens of eggs. I counted over thirty of them, each the size of a large marble. If I had left that mother turtle alone, she would have dug a big hole in the ground, placed all those eggs in that hole, and covered them over with dirt. Several months later, those eggs would have hatched into many more snapping turtles.
That’s just how it is with sin. We often do one sin and then have to do another sin - such as lying - to cover up the first one. It’s a miserable picture, isn’t it? We don’t like to think so much about such a terrible subject as sin, do we? But if we ignore it, will it go away? No; absolutely not! It will only get worse, and in the end it will land us in that awful place called hell. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)).
Is there then no good news? Thank God, there is. His own beloved Son, the sinless Man Christ Jesus, suffered, bled and died on the cross at Calvary so that He could offer you the forgiveness of all your sins as a free gift. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). “Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 13:3838Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: (Acts 13:38)).
Now it’s up to you. All you have to do is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). Don’t say “no” to the Saviour of sinners. Trust Him today. It’s the only way to know that your sins are gone and that you are ready to go to heaven.
ML-06/02/2002