“His Nature to Save”

Monday, January 28, 2019

            An old Indian used to meditate every morning on the banks of a river. One day, when he finished meditating, he saw a scorpion floating helplessly on the water, close to drowning. As the scorpion came near, the old man reached out to rescue it. When he touched it, however, the scorpion stung him. Instantly, the man withdrew his hand. But soon he tried to save the scorpion again. This time it stung him so severely with its poisonous tail that his hand began to swell and bleed, and his face contorted with pain. At that point, a bystander saw what was happening and said, “Hey, stupid old man, what’s wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for such an ugly, evil creature. Don’t you know you could kill yourself trying to save an ungrateful scorpion?” Looking the bystander straight in the eye, the old man replied, “My friend, just because it’s the scorpion’s nature to sting does not change my nature to save.”

How many times have we “stung” our Lord, Jesus Christ with the sting of sin? A careless word, thoughts of lust, greed, selfishness, and the list could go on and on of the numerous sins that you and I commit that only “sting” and hurt our Lord, who loves us so very much. Yet the Bible reminds us in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” John 3:16 puts it this way, “For God so loved the world that he gave his and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The Bible tells us that Jesus loves so much that He was willing to lay down His life to die on the cross. Not only did Jesus show us His great love for us, but the crucifixion also accomplished the eternal plan of God to provide salvation from our sins. Although He had committed no sin, Jesus "bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed" (1 Peter 2:22-24).

Although our sin “stung” Christ when He died, it also became a great blessing – as it became the means of salvation to all who will: place their trust in Jesus (Hebrews 11:6), repent of sin (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), be baptized (immersed) so that their sins can be forgiven (Acts 2:38), AND live faithfully to Him until death (Revelation 2:10). Sometimes, even after we have become a Christian, we still “sting” Christ with our sins. 1 John 1:7-10 reminds us to confess our sins and continue to live in the light of Christ. It does not make sense, but the very hands that have saved us are the ones that we sometimes harm.

Although this is true, it is still the nature of Christ to save.

Written by Mark T. Tonkery

Share