To all my dear grandchildren,
Grandpa and Johnny Rescue a Deer
Johnny lived half a mile from his grandparents' house. On Saturday mornings, he sometimes would go over to their house to eat breakfast and maybe help a little with the chores. They lived in the country, and often deer would roam through their yards.
One Saturday morning in the spring, Johnny was sitting at the breakfast table eating a big stack of pancakes with Grandpa. Looking out the window, he saw a deer nervously pacing back and forth in the front yard.
"Look, Grandpa, something must be wrong with that deer. She keeps walking over the same spot," Johnny said.
Grandpa watched the deer. Then he wiped his mouth with his napkin and said, "Johnny, let's get our coats on and go out and take a look."
In a few minutes they were out the door and walking towards the deer. Usually deer are very nervous around people and quickly run off when they come near. This deer ran only a few feet and then quickly turned around, almost like she was being tugged by a rope. However, Johnny and Grandpa didn't see any wire or rope or anything the deer could be tangled up in.
A few days before, the utility company had dug a short, deep trench to check the wiring in the front yard. The hole they dug was a couple of feet wide, a few feet long, and maybe four or five feet deep. Grandpa got suspicious that something in the trench was troubling the deer. He walked over to the hole and looked down. Yes, he was right. He understood that it was the mama deer's troubled heart-strings that held her to the spot so she didn't run away.
"Johnny, come look at this," Grandpa said.
Johnny peered over the edge of the hole and said, "Wow, it's a baby deer. Grandpa! Look at all those pretty white spots on its back. But it doesn't walk very good. Do you think it's hurt?"
"No," Grandpa said. "The fawn is just scared. it looks to be only a few weeks old."
"Can we help it, Grandpa? Can we?" asked Johnny eagerly.
Grandpa scratched his chin and thought for a second. "I think so. This is what we'll do. I will grab you by by the ankles and lower you head first into the hole. You grab the little fawn and when you get a good hold on it, I will pull you both out of the hole and we'll return the little thing to its mama."
"It sounds like a good plan, Grandpa . . . I'll do it."
Have you ever considered that sin is like a hole that traps us once we fall into it? The sides of the hole are so steep that we need help to get out of it. The only one who can help sinners is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners. He came to earth and went to the cross where He gave His life for us. After His death, He was buried in a tomb and then God raised Him from the grave. He is now alive in heaven. He did all this because He loves us and wanted to make a way for you and me to be saved from our sins.
Johnny really cared about that baby deer and was anxious to save it. He lay down next to the hole, and his grandpa grabbed him by the ankles and slowly lowered him down into the hole. The fawn tried to get away from Johnny, but in the hole he didn't have room to escape. Grandpa never let go of Johnny's ankles, and Johnny grabbed the deer by the scruff of the neck.
"See if you can wrap your arms around its belly, Johnny," Grandpa advised.
In a second Johnny had his arms wrapped around the deer. Its fur felt soft to him, and he could feel its little heart thumping. Once the bay deer was in Johnny's arms, it hardly struggled at all. Grandpa pulled them both up and out of the hole, and Johnny set the baby deer down on the ground. Almost immediately the little fawn saw its mama and ran to her side. The mama deer and her baby ran off into the woods.
"Good job, Johnny!" Grandpa said. Both Johnny and his grandpa were happy they could help the little fawn and that it was back with its mama.
When boys, girls and grown-ups believe that the Lord Jesus died on the cross for their sins, He lifts them out of the hole of sin and forgives all their sins and says, "Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more" (Hebrews 8:12). I am so glad that the Lord Jesus lifts sinners out of the deep hole of sin and forgives them. He did it for me, and He can and wants to do it for you too. Won't you believe that what He did on the cross was for you? Then someday soon He will bring you to His happy home in heaven.
"He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."
(Psalm 40:2)
Love you all,
Grandpa
No comments:
Post a Comment