A BOAT IN BONDS

A gang of drunkards was rowing a country-boat along a lake. On the way they saw a shop where liquor (toddy) was being served. It was getting dark and all of them were tired. They decided to have a halt and resume the row after relishing a drink. They got out of the boat and tied the boat safely with a rope to a tree on the bank of the lake. Then they entered the liquor shop and ordered drinks. They filled their bellies to the full with the liquor and returned to the boat with unsteady steps. They got into the boat and rowed hard, happily singing a fond melody in the ecstasy of intoxication. Hours rolled on. At sunrise, when they came back to their senses, they were surprised to find that they were still stationed near the liquor shop. They examined the boat and found that it was still bound to the tree. In the intoxicated state, they forgot to untie the boat. It could not move though they rowed hard for a full night!

A prayer group had a senior leader. He used to repeat this request in every prayer, “Lord, clean all the cobwebs entangling my life.” One day, tired of hearing this repeated request, one smart member who was to pray next, prayed aloud, “Lord, our leader has been praying every day to get his cobwebs removed. Kindly grant him the strength to kill the spider that is causing this constant trouble!” The members greeted the prayer with great applause.

Man has an inherent inclination to sin. Satan skilfully exploits this tendency to draw us towards sin again and again. Bondage to certain people, places, ideas, attitudes or articles may be the driving force that leads us to a sin repeatedly. The courage and determination to remove the root cause of the sin is the best way to escape from a temptation. Killing of the spider is the surest way to avoid cobwebs. Rowing can move a boat only if the bond to the tree is broken.

A gifted preacher finished his sermon on sin. He had narrated his own sinful past and the story of his successful transformation. There was a question from the audience, “What were you before repentance? He answered, “A sinner.” The next question was, “Then, what are you now?” The preacher repeated, “A sinner.” “Then what is the difference?” the person inquired. The preacher replied, “Earlier, I was a sinner, running after sin. But now I am a sinner running away from sin!”

Sir James Young Simpson (1811-1870) who discovered the use of chloroform as an anaesthetic, was asked to list his greatest discoveries. He said that his greatest discovery was that he was a sinner in the sight of God and that his second greatest discovery was that Jesus died for a sinner like him.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, He will keep His promise and do what is right: He will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing” {1 John 1: 8, 9}.

Prophet Isaiah foretold the severe sufferings of our Saviour who saved us from our sins: “Because of our sins He was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment He suffered, made whole by the blows He received” {Isaiah 53:5}.

St. Paul consoles us, “But now you have been set free from sin and are the slaves of God. Your gain is a life fully dedicated to Him, and the result is eternal life. {Romans 6: 22}.