Poor Tippy. He was only two months old and already he was in real danger. Only a few hours before, the little squirrel had been safe and secure in a nest his mother had made, high up in a tree. His trouble began when he fell out of the nest down to the ground.
Some nesting material Tippy had held onto during the fall had gotten tangled around his back legs, along with some twigs and leaves. After he landed he was trying to free himself from this mess when a neighbor’s dog started to bark at him. Frightened, he tried to run to safety.
He jumped up onto a chain link fence and then tried to crawl through one of its small holes. Halfway through, he got stuck. Tippy struggled to get free, but the fence only held him tighter. The frightened and confused little squirrel was stuck tightly and couldn’t go either way.
Just as Tippy had a dangerous problem, we have a dangerous sin problem. Sin doesn’t only cause problems for grown-ups, it causes problems for little children too. Because we are born with a nature that wants to sin, that’s just what we do. Romans 5:1212Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12) plainly tells us that “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” We are caught in our sins and anything we try to free ourselves only tangles us up tighter. Tippy couldn’t free himself from the fence, and we can’t free ourselves from our sins. Tippy needed someone to help him, and so do we.
Carol came out of her house to see what was going on. “It’s a little squirrel caught in the fence, and he may be hurt,” a neighbor told her. Carol and the neighbor kept a safe distance from the squirrel, knowing that a scared and injured animal will sometimes bite. As they inspected the trapped animal, Carol and her neighbor could see that it was a young squirrel and its tail had been injured. It was a hot summer afternoon, and they saw that the little squirrel was panting. “Just keep talking softly to him,” Carol told her neighbor. “I’m going to get him some water.”
Tippy nervously scolded Carol as she slowly came closer to him. But her soothing voice seemed to calm the frightened little animal as she held the small bowl of water in front of him. Tippy eagerly lapped it up.
“He’ll die if we don’t get him out of this mess,” Carol said. She found a pair of thick gloves and a blanket, then called the police to come help. Her neighbor gave her a plastic pail in which to catch the injured animal.
“I’m not sure what I can do,” said the puzzled policeman when he arrived.
“That’s okay. I think I know what needs to be done,” replied Carol. With the policeman’s help they were able to set Tippy free. They all gave sighs of relief when the little squirrel was safely in the plastic pail. Soon, tired little Tippy curled up in a ball and went to sleep.
The Lord Jesus knew that each one of us is caught in our sins. He also knew what He could do to free us, but it was going to be very costly. He was going to have to die and shed His blood to wash our sins away. Because He is the sinless Son of God, He was the only One who could do that for us. And that’s just what He did, because He loves you and me so very much. He shed His blood on Calvary’s cross so that you and I could have our sins washed away. “Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world.” Galatians 1:3,43Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 4Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: (Galatians 1:3‑4).
Carol saw to it that Tippy was taken to a wildlife refuge where they bandaged his injured tail and gave him medicine for a cut they found on his back leg. Several months later, Tippy was well enough to be released back into the wild.
The Lord Jesus wants to free you from your sins right now. You only need to tell Him that you are sorry for your sins and that you believe that He died to wash yours away. Will you do that right now?
ML-01/16/1994