Squirrels Clueless to a Watching World

The other day during a break from the rain I observed an energetic squirrel scamper in a tree outside my neighbor’s back door.  The tree stood in winter mode, its green leaves not yet scheduled to appear for a full six weeks. Consequently, everything the animal did, he did in full view of a watching world.

 That didn’t matter to the squirrel. The quick little furball ran along the branches, stopping at intersections between twig and trunk to flip its tail, to rub its ribcage along a knot, to dig at the bark for bugs. Often his tummy would pump up and down and though I couldn’t hear him I knew he was barking a warning to someone who had invaded his space.

I enjoyed his antics for several minutes. The squirrel, secure in the branches of the tree, remained oblivious to the fact that no leaves covered his hideout and his life was an open book to any passerby. Something must have clued him, though, for he suddenly raced down the trunk and ran for cover in a nearby fir.

How often have I behaved like that squirrel? My life gets busy and my  daily routine is reduced to a non-stop series of errands, running to and fro on a mission known only to myself. My private life spends its days in false security, thinking my deeds are performed away  from viewing eyes.

  Yet under the scrutiny of an almighty God, my life is an open book, my cover blown by a creator who is omnipresent and sees all.  With Him every intersection, every encounter with another, every angry outburst is played in full technicolor, and that which I might have preferred hidden is exposed.

The Bible reminds me that my sins will be found out. All too soon I will face the mighty God of heaven. Suddenly, when I least expected them, my deeds will tell on me, expose me for who I really was and lay my life out for inspection.

But I have good news.  For me, it won’t end that way. Jesus, God’s Son, came to earth, lived among men and died on a cross so that I might be forgiven.  For anyone who believes in Him, He will forgive their sins and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. I need only confess and ask for forgiveness. My sins, or deeds, have been blotted out in God’s eyes—my slate wiped  clean.

And, unlike the squirrel, I don’t have to run for cover.  A wonderful future awaits.

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”