Scorpion
By Gerald Sumeracki
Jeff and Cindy really loved Nevada and had only been living in their new house for a year when the first un-welcomed visitors arrived. Both thought retirement was supposed to be free of all concerns----it was not!
Leaving behind the mosquitoes and insects of Michigan was replaced by a new horror neither had ever experienced before, unless perhaps in a movie or displayed as a picture in a book.
Scorpions!
Never had an insect that large ever been thought to exist in such proximity to human dwellings.
The first time one was spotted was on a dark night when Cindy went into the garage to throw some recycle items in the bins. When the light was put on she saw it just ahead on the garage floor. Swift reaction brought a nearby shoe into play and the scorpion met its end.
The second time one was spotted occurred roughly a week later in the same spot at approximately the same time of night as Cindy went to get the car for a short trip to the market.
Jeff made the observation that one insect was perhaps a chance occurrence but two meant a possible nest in the area. Off to the hardware store to get something to deal with the problem. Jeff asked the clerk what was a good way to rid the garage of these unwelcome pests and glue traps were decided upon.
It worked! After placing the traps in strategic spots around the garage Jeff found a baby scorpion stuck in one trap the next morning. The critter had its two front legs and face firmly imbedded in the glue.
Not knowing the nature of the insect, he decided to let it just stay where it was until he could determine if it was a species that warranted deep concern or not. All through that day he checked books and the Internet to try and find out what was trapped. Not finding a definitive answer, Jeff let the matter pass to the next day's agenda and hoped for more catches by morning.
With the morning check of traps, Jeff found the baby scorpion gone! IMPOSSIBLE! How could an insect that was so stuck get out?
Not knowing the way the scorpion made its escape will always be a mystery but from this experience Jeff and Cindy gleaned a most valuable analogy.
Being trapped in that glue meant death to that scorpion and in its hunger to live it managed to get free. The snare it was caught in was guaranteed to keep any and all insects from ever escaping yet that scorpion escaped. Life was so precious to that insect that if found a way to free itself.
We clever humans are condemned to certain death as we wallow in the glue God calls sin. Many people really have no interest in leaving that glue, in fact they seek to get deeper into its sweet smell and warn hold. Unlike the scorpion that knew death would come in short order we humans lack the wisdom to see death as a consequence of being stuck in a life separate from God.
Some scientist believe that insects shall inherit the earth after man's demise----Interesting thought!
It is crucial that we all learn to fight against Satan's traps of sin. Every ounce of strength we have should be used to free ourselves from the trap that leads to eternal death. We need to learn that if we seek the true life that God provides, Jesus, we can find true and lasting freedom. As He said so many years ago, "I AM the way, the truth and the LIFE." To experience God's call out of that trap is called salvation and only through Jesus will sin's glue let you go.