THE DEED MAY HIDE AS SEED, BUT THE SPROUT WILL SURELY SHOUT!
Take note…and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23
I SEE THAT HAND.
I once saw a fellow falling asleep during a college lecture when I was at ORU.
To hide it from the professor he rested his chin on one hand with his elbow propped
on the desk. He held the pen in the other hand and moved it every once in a
while to make it appear he was writing. His plan was working until he began
falling into a deeper sleep. His head sagged lower and lower until he was sound
asleep with his head lying flat on the desk with his right hand still holding
the pen to the notebook and against his head. Every now and then the pen would
oscillate as if he were taking notes. Asleep, he thought he was fooling the
professor.
THE CROW FLIES
A seminary professor once told us of an experience he had in a college Latin class. Students had copies of Caesar’s Gallic Wars written in Latin and were being called on to read and translate paragraphs in class. One fellow was cheating. He had written the English translation in very small fine print just above each Latin word. The professor called on him, and he began reading as if he were translating the Latin. There is one point in the chapter where Caesar sees crows fly over the river. When the student got to this sentence, he continued reading his small, hand-written print, and said, “And the cows flew over the river.” The whole class then burst into laughter. The young man being puzzled, stopped for a second, and then resumed reading, “And the cows flew over the river.” Once again the whole class burst into laughter. Getting very frustrated, the student yelled out, “What is everyone laughing at?” To which the professor responded, “You Jackass, you can’t even read your own writing! It’s ‘the CROWS flew over the river,” His sin was evident to the entire class.
A seminary professor once told us of an experience he had in a college Latin class. Students had copies of Caesar’s Gallic Wars written in Latin and were being called on to read and translate paragraphs in class. One fellow was cheating. He had written the English translation in very small fine print just above each Latin word. The professor called on him, and he began reading as if he were translating the Latin. There is one point in the chapter where Caesar sees crows fly over the river. When the student got to this sentence, he continued reading his small, hand-written print, and said, “And the cows flew over the river.” The whole class then burst into laughter. The young man being puzzled, stopped for a second, and then resumed reading, “And the cows flew over the river.” Once again the whole class burst into laughter. Getting very frustrated, the student yelled out, “What is everyone laughing at?” To which the professor responded, “You Jackass, you can’t even read your own writing! It’s ‘the CROWS flew over the river,” His sin was evident to the entire class.
THE SROUT SHOUTS
My father and Uncle Norwood, when they were children in the early 1900s, planted corn by walking down each row in the field carrying a bag of kernels, poking holes with a stick, and dropping a kernel of corn into each hole. Uncle Norwood knew that the sooner he ran out of corn the sooner he could leave the field and go play. Assuming he had the perfect plan, he buried a handful of kernels at the end of each row so he could get rid of them quicker. No one would know. But when the corn began to sprout through the soil my grandfather found large clumps of corn plants growing at the end of many rows. The “sin” that was hidden beneath the soil “shouted” its presence in the light of the sun as seed grew through the soil. The lesson here is that the deed may hide as seed, but the sprout will surely shout.
HERE WE ARE
I read a story in Readers Digest years ago about two
defendants in court being tried for armed robbery. The prosecutor, addressing a
person on the witness stand, said, “You saw two men running out of the store carrying guns
and a large bag of money.” The witness said, “Yes.” The prosecutor then, turned
toward the people in the courtroom as he again addressed the witness, “Now are
these two men in the courtroom today?” Before the eyewitness could respond,
both defendants raised their hands.
The lesson in these unrelated stories illustrate the utter foolishness of our attempting to hide who we are. It is not only impossible to hide from God, but neither can we hide from those around us. Who we really are is ultimately revealed in our words, our countenance, and our behavior. We are like the goldfish in the bowl. We cannot run away from home and there is nowhere to hide. So it is best to have an honest heart before the Lord, for He loves us and will give grace for reality if we will face it. He does not give grace for pretend. The apostle John said that if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we walk in the light we have fellowship with Him and with one another.
All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. Hebrews 4:13
He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” Luke 12: 1-3
All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. Hebrews 4:13
He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” Luke 12: 1-3
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