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The Ungrateful Scorpion
A parable has been told
about an old man who meditated each day
by the
Ganges
River
in
India
. One morning he saw a scorpion floating on the water. When the scorpion
drifted near the old man he reached to rescue it but was stung by the
scorpion. A bit later he tried again and was
stung again. The stings caused
his
hand to swell and throb with pain.
Another man passing by
saw what was happening and yelled at the meditator,
"Hey, stupid old man, what's wrong with you? Only a fool would risk
his life for the sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don't you know you could
kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?"
The old man calmly
replied, "My friend, just because it is in the scorpion's nature to
STING, does not change my nature to SAVE."
It
is in man's nature to SIN.
We are born selfish creatures, and as we grow and learn right from
wrong, our selfishness often motivates us to choose to do wrong, i.e. SIN
(see James 1:13-15). Committing
sin, we are subject to its punishment: DEATH
(Romans 6:23).
It
is in God's nature to SAVE -
because it is in God's nature to LOVE.
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
STILL sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
Yet, too many today are like the scorpion – they refuse God's
help. Most refuse the saving
and helpful hand of the Lord. However,
God still continues to reach out to man…
It
is in God's nature to SAVE! He
"desires ALL men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth"(1
Timothy 2:4). But,
it is up to US to accept His
salvation. The Scriptures teach us that we accept God's offer of
salvation through faith
in Christ Jesus, God's Son (Acts 16:31), repentance
of sin (Acts 17:30-31), confession
of Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and baptism
for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).
The forgiveness made possible through the shed blood of Jesus
continues to cleanse us as we follow Him as a way of life (1 John 1:7).
It
is God's nature to save.....
DON'T reject His kindness. Accept
His gracious offer of salvation TODAY!
God bless you!
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
Adapted from Tom Moore,
North
Main
Church
of Christ,
823 N. Main Street
,
Malvern
,
AR
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