How many times have we seen our children, our young choosing the opposite of our wishes. They will promise to our faces that they will do right, behave as we have requested, but later we fine out the painful reality that they choose just the opposite of their promise that they had made. This reminds me of a allegory I read by Ann Landers years ago.
This young girl was walking through the hills on a cold winter day. While she was walking along the path she saw a poor snake all coiled up and shivering from the cold. The snake saw her and requested that she would help him as he was so cold. She ask the snake what he had in mind? The snake replied "If you could just tuck me into your jacket so I can warm up?" The young girl could tell what type of snake he was and she simply stated, "I know what type of snake you are, you are poisonous and you will bite me and kill me." "No, no, no, I will not, I promise I will not bite you. Oh how I wish you would believe me." After hearing the sincerity of his promise the young girl felt sympathy toward the venomous snake. She bent over and picked the shivering snake up and nestled him under her warm jacket. She then carried on toward her home. not soon after she felt a stinging pain in her side. She had been bitten. She exclaimed to the snake, "How could you, you promised you would not bite me, and now I will die." She threw the snake out of her jacket. The snake looked at her and replied, "It is not my fault, you knew what type of snake I was to begin with."
Beloved, we all struggle with our own defective character, because of that Paul calls it "the old man of sin." We know what character we are when left to our own devices, we become no better that the snake. Unless we let Christ dwell in our hearts our childish ways will keep dominating our lives. This trend leads to death my friends. Please surrender to the will of Jesus Christ and eternal life is yours.
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10
God Bless
Pastor Cowin