"The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, 'There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
'Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.'"
-2 Samuel 12:1-4
BUSTED! You know what I mean. You're 3 years old, not quite tall enough to reach the cookie jar yet; but you want one! So, being the sneaky and bright little kid that you are, you push a chair up to the counter, climb up and reach as far as you can to pull the cookie jar closer. When you get it, you smile that accomplished little smirk just before removing the lid, happily glancing down into the jar and putting your little fingers down inside. Just as you find the PERFECT cookie, Mom walks in. Yep, you've just been caught!
The same thing happens to us in our spiritual lives. It's your freshmen year; you want to fit in with the older crowd, so you do it. You go to that party that everyone's been talking about--that party that you know will serve alcohol. You're having a pretty good time. The older crowd seems to think you are pretty cool. But just as you reach for another beer, your eyes lock with a younger FCA member, the younger sister of the girl hosting the party. She sees you, beer in hand. BUSTED! You knew you shouldn't have gone. You knew you shouldn't have had a drink; but you did. Now you have to pay the consequences. Much like the man Nathan tells us about in 2 Samuel 12:1-4, you have just been caught sinning. No, it's not the end of the world. We all do it; but you DO have to pay for what you've done.
Jesus died for the repentance of our sins. He wouldn't have done it if He knew we were going to be perfect. We all make mistakes. Even Peter sinned against Jesus three times. The important thing is that you know you sinned and you repent. Jesus is always there with an open heart and more than enough love to free us from our sins and allow us to live the life He wants for us.
The next time you are tempted to stick your hand in the cookie jar, think of Nathan's story and the consequences he had to pay. When it comes to sin, it's just not worth it!
1. Think of a time when you were caught doing something you shouldn't have been doing?
2. How did you react to being caught?
3. Did you learn from your mistakes and let them help you grow stronger?
4. What can you do next time to withstand the temptation to sin?
2 Samuel 12:1-14
1 Corinthians 10:13
