1 John 2:1 (NKJV)
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Reflections:
It was a lazy spring day and little Johnny was playing near a flower bed where a bumblebee was busily working. It was his first encounter with a bumblebee and he stood very still and watched. Johnny had been warned to keep his distance from bees.
But that bee looked so soft and the colors were such a bright yellow and black; it was so pretty and didn’t seem to be paying any attention to Johnny. As Johnny watched a foolish notion came to him and he wondered, “How close can I get to that bee?
Well Johnny never did find out. That bee stung him so fast, and the pain was so bad that he went running home screaming to mommy. Johnny had attempted a foolish feat of misguided courage and ended up with a life-lesson that would never be forgotten.
We’ve all done the same thing as Johnny when it comes to sin. Oh, sin looks so attractive…that money just sitting there for the taking…that married person we’re so attracted to…those people we malign to make ourselves look good (1 John 2:16).
Nothing will happen we rationalize. No one will ever find out, when all of a sudden Wham! We get stung and life is never the same again. Those that trusted and believed in us feel so betrayed and hurt.
If we truly repent God will forgive us, but will those around us, the ones we’ve disappointed in the process of our selfish sin? Hopefully, once stung, like little Johnny, we will learn our lesson and all will be forgiven.
But why take that chance? Sin is never worth its price to be paid. Let’s keep our distance from sin … (and bees too) ...
(I adapted the story about little Johnny and the bee from “the Sonshine Society.”).jpg)