“For sin
shall not be your master,
because you
are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14)
Our little male black-chinned hummingbird
has staked out our hummingbird feeder for his missus, and woe unto any other
male hummingbird that comes to feed. His
female comes to feed, and if another male tries to drive her off, then our male
swoops in on the usurper and they engage in quite a martial display. What other creature can turn the tables on
our little over-eager male hummie and drive him away? A wasp.
Of course, the wasps love the sugar water;
they stick their little tongues into the feeder, and enjoy the sweetness. If the wasps are stationed on the feeder, the
male hummie will come in and seek a spot away from them. He feeds a little more anxiously than usual,
and if the wasps move at all, then away he goes!
I am afraid of these small beasts as
well. In trying to put fresh sugar water
into the feeder, I have the unenviable task of trying to shoo the wasps away
and make sure I don’t get nailed by them.
They will chase me if disturbed, and the hummie is all too aware of how
nasty these creatures are as well. I am
disappointed by the wasps’ presence.
I love watching the hummies fly in and
feed, and I admire the male for being so diligent and protective to the
female. The way they fly is
amazing! They were even able to come to
feed during a huge windstorm we had recently.
The hummies hung in the air, trying to overcome the wind and land on the
feeder. I thought about a 747 airliner
trying to navigate a Katrina-sized hurricane…it can be done, but a lot effort
goes in to such task! The hummies
fought the winds bravely, not letting anything deter them from feeding.
So, when the wasps show up and take over
the feeder, they are the ultimate party-poopers! The male hummie is still around (not even
wasps will drive him completely away) but he doesn’t come to the feeder as often and watching
wasps is not nearly as gratifying as watching my hummies!
Doesn’t sin act like a wasp on our heart’s
feeder? At first, sin alights on us, and
we feel we can accommodate sin—sin can “feed” side by side with our lives in
Him. It only feeds at one little part of
our heart, and we can come and go as we please.
We see the sin there and just pick another spot, knowing our hearts are
big enough to have both sin and the Spirit in it—at least that’s how we
rationalize sin in our lives. Then, over
time, we fail to see what the wasp of sin will do--it’s so small, right? Sin will start to drive away the good things
in our heart.
A wasp is not willing to
share with the hummie, despite the rather good-natured response of the hummie—the
hummie flies away for a time, waiting for the wasp to finish. But a wasp doesn’t just feed and fly away—it sits
on the feeder, and more and more wasps start showing up.
Soon, the hummie comes to the feeder less
and less—the more sin in our hearts, the less often we listen to the Spirit,
and His voice grows fainter and fainter.
Soon, the sweetness of His presence is lost in the angry buzz of sin,
and we lose His joy in our lives.
Our hearts are His most prized possession—why
hand it over to the wasps?
Prayer
Heavenly Father: How often do we allow sin to land and start feeding upon our hearts? Oh, it starts out small,
but soon more and more sin shows up, driving away Your goodness. We can shoo the wasps away with a confession
of our sin and Your sweetness is restored.
Keep us on guard for the wasps and let us be diligent to not let even
one land on our hearts! Your Word
promises us that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will
forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) In the wonderful Name of Your Son, Amen.
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