October 18, 2020

The Shepherd's Corner

THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

I know, I know, you must be tired of hearing my talking about our grandchildren.  But allow me to indulge one more time, please.  The other day while Santy and I were at our daughter’s home, our two-year-old grandson, as usual, asked me to carry him around.  (That is my work out of the week.)  This time he directed me to go to his parents’ bedroom.  The moment we got there, he immediately slid down and closed the door.  I thought it strange because he had never done that before.  Why did he have to close the door?

Well, I soon found the answer.  Right away this little guy grabbed a suitcase that was lying on a cabinet and started to open it.  Half-way through our daughter walked in and caught him in the act and told him to stop doing that. To say the least he was very unhappy when his mother took that suitcase from him.  Apparently, this little guy had it all planned out.  He “used” me to take him to his parents’ bedroom; he, then, closed the door so he could rummage what was inside that suitcase without his mother’s knowledge.

When I thought of that incident, I smiled and was reminded that we are all sinners—not since we turned 12, but rather long before we even reached 2.  Nobody taught this two-year-old to make that elaborate scheme, but somehow, he mastered it.  So here is the first lesson I learned: It does not take learning to sin, but it takes much learning NOT to sin. Psalms 51:5 spells this truth clearly, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

The second lesson I learned is sinning and hiding are cousins. There is something so shameful about sinning that we just want to hide it.  But we often forget, we can only hide from people, never from God.  It is just a matter of time before God opens the door and walks in.

Pastor Paul

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