A Rabbi, A Scorpion and A Cross

There once was a rabbi who loved the Lord with all his heart; he was a righteous man but he wanted to get closer to the Lord so he decided to climb Mt. Sinai, thinking:  "Perhaps if I ascend as Moses did I will feel closer to God."  So he went out into the wilderness and started climbing in the heat of the day.  When he had climbed a few thousand feet he sat down on a rock to rest.  A black poisonous scorpion crawled onto the rock next to him and to the rabbi's great surprise, started talking to him!  "Put me on your shoulder and take me up to the top of the mountain with you", said the scorpion.  "I will be company for you on the long trip up."  The rabbi said:  "No!  You are a poisonous scorpion.  If I were to do that you would sting me and kill me!  I would be a fool."  The scorpion replied shrewdly and seductively:  "Now why would I do that?  If I hurt you I would only be ruining my ride to the top of the mountain.  Surely I will not sting you."  So the rabbi, thinking the companionship would be nice on the long arduous trip, picked up the scorpion, put him on his shoulder and resumed climbing.  When he had gone almost to the top the scorpion stung him on the neck.  As the deadly poison seeped into the rabbi's body he looked in confusion at the scorpion and said:  "Why did you do that?  You promised you wouldn't!"  To which the scorpion replied:  "You knew what I was when you picked me up."

My name is Jeannie and I'm an alcoholic.  Like the rabbi I too love the Lord.  And like the rabbi I've had a particularly difficult climb recently.  One where I felt hot and tired, diminished by the heat and all alone.   One day I too picked up my 'scorpion'  thinking it would be company for me and make the climb a bit easier.  It did not; before I knew it I was feeling the sting and the poison was seeping thru my life.  I was back in Egypt spiritually - in bondage to alcohol once again.  A wise woman told me this:  "Sin takes you farther than you ever wanted to go; it keeps you longer than you ever wanted to stay; it costs you more than you ever wanted to pay."  She was right. 

But there is a solution.  It's called The Cross and it beckons me back.  Even though I live on this side of Calvary and am under God's marvelous gift of grace, there are some things for which I need to return to that painful place.  So I did and received grace and mercy in my time of need.  There is peace at The Cross.  There is restoration there.  There is Jesus.

How about you?  Do you have a scorpion on your shoulder?  There is room for you at The Cross you know, whether for the first time or a return time.  The Season of the Cross is upon us; there is no better time to come than today.

(Check back - I hope to write more on restoration later in the week.  Shalom.)