The Pathetic Pelican

Read: Galatians 6:6-10

He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption. --- Galatians 6:8

The Bible In One Year:
Proverbs 22-24

Pelicans, with their huge beaks, are strange-looking birds. But I saw one that was especially weird. Its beak was crisscrossed, as if someone had pulled the upper and lower parts in opposite directions. He was a pathetic sight!

Remembering that pelicans zoom headfirst from a considerable height into schools of fish to obtain their meals, I wondered if this particular bird had seen such a tempting catch that he dove into water that was too shallow for him and hit bottom. I don't know of this is what happened, but it made me think about the consequences and sometimes permanent effects of bad choices.

Many people today carry with them the scars of sin. Although it is true that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrigtheousness" [1 John 1:9], physical and emotional problems often remain. Those who live a reckless and unrestrained life may bear the marks of their destructive lifestyle to their dying day, even though in later years are marvelously saved.

When you're tempted to sin, remember the pelican with the mangled beak. God will forgive sin when you confess it, but the consequences may last a lifetime. --- Richard De Haan

The bounty of God's matchless graceIs greater than our sinful needs,Yet from the evil that we sowThere may remain a crop of weeds. --- D. De Haan

FORBIDDEN FRUIT TASTES SWEET BUT ITS AFTERTASTE IS BITTER.