Jack is the eternal dreamer. Whatever comes his way, he grabs at. In the land of fairy tales, one day he climbs a giant beanstalk, and there, in spite of impossible odds, he finds the golden goose that will be his sustenance forever.
Then Jack cuts the beanstalk down.
Now, Jack had a good reason for cutting that beanstalk down. That goose was not his. He stole it, and he had a cruel and vindictive giant chasing after him with malicious thoughts in his head.
Jack was surviving. Jack did what was prudent at the moment. Jack was grabbing at whatever opportunity came his way, even if it was an ax to destroy the ladder that had carried him to success.
We also have a golden goose. There is one slight difference, though. We haven’t had to steal ours. Rather, God offers it to us freely. It is our salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Yet, sometimes we still cut the beanstalk down. We take advantage of the moment, do what seems prudent, and we destroy the very ladder that has brought us our success.
We wreck our relationship with God for the reward of a few moments’ satisfaction in a deed gone very, very wrong. When the opportunity presents itself, we just do it, without taking count of the consequences.
James 1:14 tells us each of us is enticed by our own desires.
Hebrews 13:5 exhorts us to depend on God rather than money.
1 John 3:15 lays our consequences on the line. If we hate those around us, we have murdered them in our hearts, and God will strip our eternal life from us.
We will have killed the goose that lays the golden egg, and all for a few moments of emotional satisfaction.
Jack of the fairy tale story was a vacuous dreamer whose designs on life were based more on fantasy than on reality. Even unwise opportunities that seemed to provide an easy moment of pleasure prompted him to jump aboard. Yes, he got that goose, but think of the damage he did along the way.
Rather, we should remember Ephesians 2:8-9, for this passage tells us our salvation is not anything we have earned. Instead, it comes by the grace of God through our faith in him. It’s not an impulsive decision. It’s one we make and follow through on day by day.
We cannot afford to risk the most valuable asset in all creation: God’s gift of eternal life given through his Son at the cross.
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