As my family and I were sitting in the living room the night before last, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was a wasp. Someone had opened the door at some point and that little stinger made it’s way right into the house.
As it flew around hitting the ceiling I looked over and saw the other three members of my family look up at it, then look back at the TV. Usually I’m quick to jump up and swat whatever, but for some reason I didn’t even give it a second thought. I did the same as everyone else- I ignored it.
What’s the big deal about this wasp? Well, it could’ve been a big deal if someone would’ve gotten stung. Most of the time when Jason (my husband) gets stung he ends up having to go get a shot at the doctor. That would’ve been a big deal and a big bill!
So who let it in? Did they realize when they opened the door they could’ve been letting something in that could be harmful? Was I the one that let it in?
I remember many years ago my mother-in-law talked to me about how when someone does something they shouldn’t, it was opening the door for sin to get in not only in their lives but also the lives of their family. At first I didn’t understand all that well what she meant. As time passed on, I would see it happen in families. It’s always easier to look at someone else instead of ourselves, but over time my eyes were opened and I saw it in my own family as well. To be completely honest, I’ve swung that door open wide and just stood there way too many times letting the good out and the bad in.
Its kind of like that wasp that was flying around. Someone opened the door and it put our whole family in danger. Furthermore, we all saw the wasp and none of us did anything to protect our family. Me, of all people, especially since I was stung not long ago, should’ve remembered the pain I felt and jumped up, grabbed a shoe and protected my family. I should’ve stopped that wasp as soon as I laid eyes on it.
So what do we do when we see the door to sin has been opened and is flying around to sting it’s next victim? Instead of acting and feeling hopeless, we can call out to our Father in prayer, trusting He hears our plea.
What if we are the one that opened the door? First we have to realize we did! Then what? We can’t change the past, but by repenting and praying, God can change the future!
Oftentimes I’ve opened the door and I’ve seen someone (sometimes multiple people) get “stung” immediately. Whether we realize it or not, we have an influence on the people around us. To quote my mother-in-law, “All it takes is a tiny crack in the door for sin to get in.”
She couldn’t be more right.
A lady I clean house for has a small crack under her screen door. That small crack was big enough for a lizard to come inside her house.
Ephesians 4:27 NKJV says, “nor give place to the devil.”
I know that is an incomplete sentence but there is a list of things mentioned in Ephesians chapter 4, beginning in verse 25, all the way to the end (of the book of Ephesians). Some are things to either not do, or do, so that we don’t give place to the devil. Chapter 6, beginning in verse 10 tells us how to “gear up” to prevent that door from being opened. The importance of the verse picked out pertaining to this story is: not to give the enemy a home.
Our home- a safe haven for us and our family. It’s a place where we can choose what comes inside. We can make our home a place of refuge from this world, or if we aren’t careful, we can allow turmoil in and it can take over us and those we love in the blink of an eye.
Lord, help me to fill the cracks in my home. Help me to close the door on sin in my life before my family, friends or anyone else is destroyed because of what I have allowed to come in. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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As always, thank you for reading and God bless!
Maid in His Image 