Not for the Showcase!   

One clear Spring day… a young boy was playing outside in his yard when he was 
bitten by a deadly snake that had crawled out from under a woodpile.  The boy 
was soon unable to breathe and lost consciousness.  By the time he arrived at the emergency room of the local hospital, he had succumbed to the deadly toxins.  
The parents were told that their only son... was dead.

Now just imagine, his father taking this same snake to a taxidermist and having it stuffed and mounted upon a pedestal; setting diamonds for its eyes, replacing many 
of its scales with emeralds and rubies and other precious stones and placing it on display in his home, behind a glass case, against a background of red velvet for all his guests to see and admire.  He might remark, “Come, let me show you the snake that has killed my son!  Look at its exquisite markings; observe its elegant features.  Notice the coiled position – the deadly fangs poised to strike!  Have you ever seen a more beautiful specimen?”

Could any of us comprehend doing such a thing?  Yet WE do the very SAME 
thing when we "showcase"  SIN in our OWN lives - SIN that caused the death of GOD’S only Son! Too often, we look upon SIN as something glamorous and appealing; something to be enjoyed and admired; when in reality…behind the mask, it is terribly hideous and extremely lethal!

Instead of "showcasing"  SIN in our lives, we need to shun it!  We need to recognize it for what it is: despicable, deadly, and causing the death of God’s Son on the cross.  It is ONLY in the shadow of the cross of Christ that we understand the horrible nature of SIN.  For it was because of SIN that Jesus endured a cruel, torturous death by crucifixion.  He “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24).

The cross of Christ shows us how truly terrible SIN is, but it also reveals the magnitude of God’s LOVE!  "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).  On the cross, Jesus paid the price for the redemption of our sins: "In Him we have redemption through His BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7).

In order to accept Jesus’ offer of redemption... we must place our faith in Him (Acts 16:31), repent of our sins (2 Corinthians 7:9-10), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) so that our sins can be washed away by His BLOOD (Acts 2:38; 22:16).  Then, as long as we CONTINUE to walk “in the light” of His Word, His blood will CONTINUE to cleanse us from our sin (1 John 1:7).

God bless you.

David A. Sargent / W.T. Allison / M. Eddlemon

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

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