by Jim Adkins

Created on: October 06, 2009

Not of This World

On my way to McDonald's last Sunday morning I eagerly anticipated my morning cup of coffee and reading the paper. This has been a morning ritual of mine for a number of years and fits well into my daily routine. Driving through the darkened streets of Tell City I watched the pink fingers of dawn as they crept over the horizon. The western sky was still riveted with stars, which were beginning to fade. Turning onto Pestolozzi Street I saw something moving in the gray road a couple of blocks ahead. Squinting, I thought I saw two rather large dogs.

Tattered wisps of fog rolled lazily along the street as I neared the animals. I slowed, not wanting to harm them or my truck. Then to my surprise, I recognized that they weren't dogs at all, but two baby deer. As I watched, it became apparent that the two fawns were frightened. Their shiny bright eyes rolled in alarm. They were out of their element and were unsure of what to do. They undoubtedly longed for their mother, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Pulling over, I waited to see how this would play out. As I rolled my window down I heard the twittering of the morning birds above, as they commented to themselves about the unfolding drama. Inwardly, I was rooting for the beautiful babes. They started in one direction, stopped, and then turning, took a few steps in another. There was a tree line near a creek in a nearby park and after making numerous false starts they made their way over to it and out of my line of sight. Smiling to myself, I wished them well and resumed my quest for a morning jolt.

Steamy warmth whispered past my face as I sat in the restaurant thinking about the deer. My thoughts drowned out the happy jabbering of the morning crew in the restaurant as I smiled to myself. How like us those two yearlings were. 1 Peter 2:11 says that we are foreigners and aliens in this world. How true this is. I feel it all the time and I know others do also.

Just as the fawns seemed out of place standing in the street, Christians too are out of place in this sinful world. We live here, we work here, we put up with what we must, but this is not our home. We also long for our parent; our Heavenly Father. We are in the middle of a very dangerous place, just as the deer were that morning.

The animals were protected when they were with their parent and followed her lead. She was wise and knew the safe way, the way that leads to life. God is so much like that to us. We are secure when we follow and never let Him out of our sight. He will lead us through this existence and on to eternal life because He loves us more than we can ever imagine. Walking out of the restaurant later, I realized that there is much to be learned from His creatures if we take the time to do so. Take the time.

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