The next morning Haley woke up late and did not feel like getting out of bed. Frank had left her to live with the herd of wild deer, plus, it was raining. Finally, she dragged herself out of bed and looked out the window at the gloomy day. She could not believe her eyes! Three deer were in the yard, and one of them was Frank!
Haley was so excited that she ran out of the house in her pajamas so that she could see Frank! The other two deer ran into the field when they saw Haley burst from the house, but Frank ran to Haley! Haley hugged Frank and told Frank how much she had missed her. Then Haley and Frank began to chase each other around the yard! It was great fun! This went on for about 10 minutes and then Frank ran down the driveway. There was a big puddle in the driveway and Frank jumped over it easily. Haley was running behind Frank, and she prepared to jump that puddle too, but then she remembered that deer can jump a lot further than humans. She would probably not be able to jump over that puddle, so she stopped abruptly. Actually, she only tried to stop, the ground was so wet and muddy that she slid right into the puddle and abruptly sat down in the puddle! The water was cold, and her pajamas were soaked and covered with mud! Frank ran across the field to the other deer and all three of them ran into the forest.
The next day Haley left some food outside for Frank, and Frank came again and they played some more. After that Haley always left some hay or corn on the ground outside the barn. Some days Frank came to eat the food, and some days Frank did not come. On the days that Frank did show up, Haley tried to play with her deer, and sometimes Frank would play for just a minute, but other times Frank would not play at all.
Frank came to the farm less and Haley was worried about Frank. She asked Joe why Frank was not coming to the farm as much, and why Frank hardly ever played with her. Joe told Haley that Frank was leaving her previous life behind her and becoming more like a wild deer. Joe said that a short time from now, Frank would probably not come to the farm at all except at night when the other wild deer came onto the farm looking for food. Frank would not want to play with Haley anymore either. Frank was doing what was natural for her, and Haley would have to accept that.
Joe told Haley that she could learn a little bit more about who she is from this experience with Frank. Just like Frank is leaving her old life behind her and gradually becoming a wild deer, a Believer in Jesus is to leave their old life of sin behind them and gradually become more like Jesus. This is not easy, and it takes a lot of time. If fact, we will struggle with our old sin nature as long as we are alive on this earth.
In the Bible in I Peter 1:13-14 it says:
So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.
In the Bible in Colossians 3:1-5a it says:
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.
Joe told Haley that when a person has Jesus in their heart, they want to leave sin behind them, but it is not easy. There are temptations to sin all around us each day, and too many times we give in and sin, but Jesus loves us and has promised not to leave us. With Jesus helping us, we can gradually start to sin less and become a little bit more like Jesus Himself.
In the Bible in Philippians 3:13-14 it says:
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.