One cloudy, cool day Haley was leading the kids through the woods and her pet raccoon Daniel was riding on her shoulder. They came to a fork in the trail and had to decide which way to go. Haley had taken the kids down the trail to the right the last time they came on this trail, so all the kids wanted to explore the trail going to the left. This new trail was a lot of fun, but it was a hard trail. They went uphill for a long time and everyone except Daniel was getting very tired. Finally, they got to the top of the hill and there was a big rock beside the trail. The kids all climbed on top of the big rock and lay down to rest. They were all so tired that most of them fell asleep and took a short nap.
When they woke up, they continued along the top of the hill on the trail. They went around a curve and could not believe their eyes! The trail went straight down the hill! Haley said that this would be a great place to run downhill. Daniel did not trust Haley to run down that hill without falling at least 20 times, so he got off her shoulder and ran down the hill beside her.
They ran faster and faster, and Haley did not fall even once! At the bottom of the steep hill there was a sharp curve, and they went flying around the curve as fast as they could go, and the rest of the kids were right behind them! Suddenly, Daniel slid to a stop, turned around and began running back up the hill as fast as he could go! He ran right through the whole group of kids, and they all fell in a heap as they tried to get out of his way!
Haley ran around that curve by herself and could not believe what she saw! It was a mother skunk with four baby skunks! Haley almost ran over them, the mother skunk was not happy, and began to stomp her front feet! Haley remembered that Joe had told her that when a skunk stomps its front feet, it is getting ready to spray somebody! Haley did not wait to see what would happen! She ran to the closest tree and began to climb as fast as she could!
Unfortunately, Haley had chosen the wrong tree! There was a hole in the ground at the bottom of the tree, and that hole was the skunk’s home! The skunks were playing in their front yard, and they were not going anywhere! Haley was stuck in the tree and could not get down without getting sprayed by the mother skunk!
The rest of the kids saw the skunks, and they followed Daniel and began running back to the farm as fast as they could! When they got to the farm, they told Joe all about their adventure! A few of the kids laughed at Haley because she always seemed to get herself in trouble, and now she was going to end up stinking! Most of the kids were worried about Haley, they wanted to rescue her, but they had no idea how to do it. They asked Joe how they could save Haley without any of them becoming stinky!
Joe thought for a moment, and then told the kids that there was nothing that they could do to rescue Haley. She would have to wait for the skunks to either leave for awhile or go into their home. Joe decided that while they were waiting for Haley to escape from the skunks, it would be a good time to teach the kids a little more about God.
Joe told the kids that just like Haley is trapped by the skunks, we are all trapped with a sin nature. When we make the decision to become a believer in Jesus and ask Him to forgive our sins and come into our life, our sins are forgiven. All our sins are forgiven, the sins of the past, the sins of today, and the sins of the future. Even though the sins are forgiven, each believer still has a sin nature living inside of them. A believer does not want to continue sinning, but they find that they keep sinning. Sometimes a believer will make a vow to quit a certain sin, and they might be successful for a few days or even a few weeks or months, but then they find themselves caught up in that sin again!
The Apostle Paul, in the Bible, found that this was true in his own life, and he found it very frustrating!
In the Bible in Romans 7:18-24a Paul writes:
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life – that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am!
Just like Haley is trapped in that tree, each believer in Jesus has a sin nature that is still living inside, and they many times feel trapped by that sin nature. The more a believer knows God, the more awful they feel about the sin in their life. Most other believers understand that we all struggle with sin, and they support each other, try to understand the struggles with sin, and pray for each other. But there are always some who ignore the sin in their own life and are quick to judge others, spread rumors, and show unkindness to the person who is struggling with a sin. Joe pointed out that the kids in the group showed these same attitudes toward Haley being trapped in the tree. Most of the kids felt sorry for her and wanted to find a way to rescue her, but some of the kids laughed at her and made fun of her.
So, how did the Apostle Paul solve the problem of sin in his life?
The Apostle Paul gives us the answer in Romans 7:24b-25.
Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Jesus has conquered sin! Not only has He forgiven us, but once this life on earth is over, then sin in our life will be over too! We get to spend eternity with Jesus in heaven, with no more sin ever!
The believer must live with this sin conflict until their life on this earth is over! Every believer wants to live to please God, but still must live with a sin nature that will not go away! We are trapped; just like Haley is trapped in that tree. However, there is one big difference; our sin nature will go away when our life on this earth is over, but hopefully Haley will escape from the tree before her life is over!
Just as Joe finished talking to the kids, Haley walked into the farmhouse. She said that finally the skunks had gone into the forest, probably to look for food, and she had escaped from the tree and had run back to the farm.