A flock of wild ducks were flying in formation, heading South for the Winter. It formed a beautiful V in the sky and was admired by everyone who saw them from below. One day Wally, one of the wild ducks in the formation, spotted something on the ground that caught his eye. It was a barnyard with a flock of tame ducks who lived on the farm. They were waddling around on the ground, clacking merrily, and eating corn that was thrown on the ground for them every day. Wally liked what he saw. “It sure would be nice to have some of that corn” he thought to himself… and all this flying is very tiring. “I’d like to just Waddle around for a while!” So, after thinking it over for a while, Wally left the formation of wild ducks, made a sharp dive to the left, and headed for the barnyard. He landed among the tame ducks and began to waddle around and quack merrily. He also started eating corn. The formation of wild ducks continued their journey South, but Wally didn’t care. “I’ll rejoin them when they come back North in a few months” he said to himself. Several months went by and sure enough Wally looked up and spotted the flock of wild ducks in formation heading North. They looked beautiful up there…And Wally was tired of the barnyard. It was muddy, and everywhere he waddled, nothing but duck doo. “It’s time to leave” said Wally. So, Wally flapped his wings furiously and tried to get airborne. But he had gained some weight from all his corn eating, and he hadn’t exercised his wings much either. He finally got off the ground, but he was flying so low that he slammed into the side of the barn. He fell to the ground with a thud and said to himself “Oh well, I’ll just wait until they fly South in a few months. Then I’ll rejoin them and become a wild duck again.” But when the flock flew overhead once more, Wally again tried to lift himself out of the barnyard. He simply didn’t have the strength. Every Winter and every Spring, he saw his wild duck friends flying overhead and they would call out to him. But his attempts to leave were all in vain. Eventually, Wally no longer paid any attention to the wild ducks flying overhead. He hardly even noticed them. He had, after all, become a barnyard duck.
Sometimes we get tired of being “wild ducks”…. in other words followers and Jesus Christ. It’s not always easy to be obedient to God and to discipline ourselves to hang in there for the long haul. When we’re feeling that way, that’s when Satan tempts us to fall out of formation and to join the barnyard ducks of the world. And yet, look what happened to Wally. He thought he would just “check it out” for a while…and then leave when he wanted to. But he couldn’t do it. And sin is just like that! Sin is a trap! Sin has a way of changing us into people we don’t even want to become. Eventually we lose touch with who really are. We… (YOU and I) are in fact… the sons and daughters of the Most High!
Let’s take a look at this illustration…and a look at Adam and Eve (Genesis 3). We will then apply this to our lives:
- caught his eye…Wally was intrigued by something new…that someone else had, that looked good. In the same way…Eve was intrigued by something that was not for her, that looked good. “the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye.”
- liked what he saw…Wally liked what he saw. Eve liked the idea of being like God. “and also desirable for gaining wisdom”
- started eating corn…Wally was hooked once he ate the corn. In the same way, Eve gave into the temptation. “she took some and ate it.” And life was never the same.
- slammed into the side of the barn…Wally had to face the consequences of his actions. Eve (and Adam) now knew evil and sin. ““Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” They now had to face the stark reality and consequences of sin!
- i’ll just wait…Wally became comfortable in his new identity as he became a barnyard duck. He no longer lived in the freedom of the air. Eve became a sinner. No longer able to live in the garden. “So the Lord God banished him (and her) from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.”
So…let’s get personal…and maybe a little uncomfortable! Read Genesis 3 slowly.
- What secret things have you let catch your eye? You convince yourself that a little look, a little touch, will be ok!
- What have you not only just glanced at but now like what you see? Perhaps you spend more time with and have started to fantasize about what it would be like.
- The more time you spend in this place the more likely you will start eating corn. At first you justify why it’s ok…”it’s just a little….I can stop anytime I want…no one will know…everyone else is doing it”…and then you slam into the side of the barn so to speak….You face the reality and guilt of your actions.
Wow…this got heavy didn’t it? But, we can deny it, but it is true!!! ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”We are all sinners and we all have fallen short. We are all like Wally. But the good news is that “we are all justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ.”
Here is what I want you to do…..Read Genesis 3 and ask yourself:
- Do I know what God’s Word says…Will I know right from wrong? Do I know what His will is for me? (why not start reading His Word in the Bible or read a devotional every morning).
- Do I let culture try to trick me as to what is right and wrong…Do I let culture define what is good and bad…acceptable and forbidden?
- Who do I spend time with that is leading me astray… to bad thoughts, values, and behaviors?
- In what areas am I in a “slow fade” to sinful behavior?
- Who needs me to nudge them back on track?
- Spend time right now in prayer…ask God to reveal areas that He wants to clean up.