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From the Pastor’s Desk
Pastor Paul A. Coats
A seven-year-old girl was walking on a beach in Florida when she found something very beautiful. She wanted to pick it up, but was reluctant. Earlier that day, she had wandered into the crashing surf only to be extracted by her father and severely reprimanded. Later she found a piece of broken coral which was taken from her because it was sharp and might cut her. That afternoon, finding the abundant loose sand all around her too enticing to resist, she took great handfuls of it and threw it in the air. Unfortunately, it drifted and landed on top of the picnic lunch her mother had prepared. You can imagine her response.
Now her eyes beheld this new and beautiful thing. It was different. It was not like the other things that had caused so much grief. Unlike the water that could drown her, the coral that might cut her, or the sand that ruined their picnic lunch, this thing was soft and lovely to behold. Illuminated by the summer sun, it vacillated between being every color and no color at all. She prodded it with a stick and found it was squishy. She smelled it and her nose was rewarded with the aroma of the sea. So, she picked it up and cupped it in her hands. As she walked back to the place where their towels were spread on the beach, she delighted in the way it wiggled and felt cool to the touch. It was beautiful, she loved it, and it was all hers.
All at once, something changed. The beautiful thing was no longer cool to the touch. In fact, it burned rather like fire. She dropped it; and it landed on her feet. Then her feet and legs began to burn like her hands. So, she picked the thing up and threw it. As she did, it broke in two. Half of it landed on her brother’s chest; the other half slid down her arm onto her neck and down her back. The fire was spreading. Just as she saw great welts forming on various parts of her body, she heard her brother screaming.
A short while later, the entire family was in the emergency room of the local hospital. She was being treated for the welts on her body and burning skin. Her brother was in respiratory arrest—the result of a severe allergic reacting to jellyfish venom.
We know the rules that God would have us live by: “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.” Mark 10:19. But there are so many beautiful and enticing things in life that cause us to doubt the importance of living by such rules. All too often it seems that God—like these girl’s parents—is intent of robbing us of the joy of life. Though we may agree with God’s Law in principle, we convince ourselves that there must be exceptions to every rule—especially when it applies to our pursuit of happiness.
There was a boy in my high school who enjoyed climbing out his bedroom window onto the roof. There was one place from the roof that was only six or seven feet from the ground. Two or three nights a week he used this path to freedom to escape the rules of the house and wander the neighborhood. He never worried about the jump having mastered the laws of gravity for this short distance. Even after he was caught and was warned about continuing his behavior, he persisted in his defiance. One night, while showing off to a young lady, he caught his foot in the gutter. Today, thirty-four years later, he remains paralyzed from the shoulders down.
All we want to do is have some fun, a little bit of joy and happiness. But all these Rules keep getting in the way. If only we could see that God’s rules are there to protect us rather than imprison us. They are like unbreached walls of a pipe that allows pure water to flow freely for all to drink. We may be content with a little bit of joy and happiness, but God never is. He desires an abundant and joy filled life for all of us. If you feel the joy of life is passing you by, you won’t find it by sampling forbidden fruit. You are far more likely only to add to the sorrow of others.
Sermon
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