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Fighting God

Today as I was heading back to the church building, I saw, on the side of the road, an alligator snapping turtle. The Bass Pro Shops both in Springfield and in Dallas have very large ones on display, but this was the first time I had seen one in the wild. They are indigenous to this area of the country where we live, but most of the time they live in the creeks and rivers and spend the largest portion of their lives under water, so it was unusual to see it on the side of the road. I immediately thought that this guy needs to get back into the water if he is going to live a full life (120 years) so I decided to move him. Well, if you know anything about snapping turtles, they can be pretty aggressive, and this one was. I tried to pick it up by the shell, but it would not have anything to do with that. It twisted and snapped and wouldn’t let me hold it. Another man walked up and in thinking about the problem, decided to use a shovel to get it into the back of my pickup and then I could take it to a creek and put it in. All the while, the turtle kept snapping, hissing, fighting, and just generally not cooperating with us. When I arrived at the creek, I got a big LONG stick and pushed it out of the truck. It continued to fight. I pushed it further and further down the bank. It continued to fight me. Finally, it turned around enough to see the water and when it saw it, it took off. It was back where it needed to be to live its life. When I got back to the church building I began thinking about how much we are like this alligator snapping turtle. Here are some thoughts in that regard.

First, the turtle was in peril, but did not realize it. How often do we make decisions in our lives that place us in spiritual peril? The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:17) and that if we continue in sin, we can expect the wage of death (Romans 6:28). But many today do not realize this. The gospel of Christ teaches us that we need to recognize and avoid sin when we come across it in our life. God’s plan for man’s salvation is all about lifting people out of sin so that they can live their lives without sin. However, many choose to remain in their spiritual peril. Instead of listening to God’s word regarding how to avoid sin, they neglect knowing the truth and remain in sin through ignorance. Let’s resolve not to fight God when it comes to understanding sin.

Second, the turtle probably thought that he was safe where he was as long as he was left alone. Many today think that as well, but how mistaken they are. The Bible teaches that we can’t be saved through a righteousness of our own (Romans 10:3). We can’t be safe where we are as long as we are left alone. God requires that we come to know Him and His will and that we transform our life into the life of His Son Jesus (Romans 12:1, 2). Just as that turtle needed help to get out of the predicament it was in, so also the predicament of sin requires that we look somewhere else for help to get out of sin. God has the answer to our sin problem through the gospel (Romans 1:16, 17), but we must choose to cooperate with God in order to have our sins forgiven and be taken out of our perilous situation. Let’s resolve not to fight God when it comes to dealing with our sin.

Third, one of the interesting things about the turtle was that he would get about two feet away from the road in a little outcropping of rocks and think that he was safe there. He didn’t realize just how close to danger he was. How many realize that we need to move away from sin, but we move just far enough away so as to think we are safe. We try to play the line crossing game. How close can I get to sin without calling it sin? This game doesn’t really keep us safe, it just gives us the illusion of safety. The whole time we are playing this game we are still in grave danger of falling to sin because we have chosen to stay near to it. Just moving a little bit away from the danger will not help. We need to move far away from it. We read in Ezekiel 18:31 that God wants us to cast far away our transgressions from us and when we obey Him we read that he will do this (Psalm 103:2). We cannot hold onto safety and stay near to sin at the same time (Matthew 6:24). Let’s resolve not to fight God when it comes to distancing ourselves from sin.

Fourth, when someone comes along to help the turtle, it snapped, hissed, fought and generally did not cooperate. What is our attitude toward someone who is trying to correct our situation? The Bible says that we need to be receptive toward those who are trying to teach us the word of God, yet how many times do we snap, hiss, fight and reject those who come in a spirit of love and compassion to help us out of our sinful situation? Proverbs 9:8 says, “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.” Those who are wise toward God will not snap, hiss, fight, and reject, but will accept the reproof and try to correct their lives. Let’s resolve not to fight God when it comes to accepting reproof for sin in our lives.

Fifth, the turtle continued to fight even though he did not realize he was near safety. Once I arrived at the creek and let the turtle out of the back of my pickup truck, he continued to snap at me. I continued to push him toward the water even though he was not aware that that was the place where he would be saved. So many today reject God’s plan for man’s salvation when they are so close. Many understand the need to hear the gospel, believe it, repent of their sins, and confess Christ, but not the need to be baptized for the remission of sins. They get so close to salvation, yet they fight the last step. If they would just accept the truth they could make it all the way. Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Baptism is required for salvation. One cannot be saved without it. Yet many, like the turtle, sit on the edge of the water snapping and hissing not realizing how close they are to salvation, yet how far they are as well, while others lovingly and gently nudge them ever closer. Let’s resolve not to fight God when it comes to accepting His plan for man’s salvation.

Finally, once that turtle saw the water, I couldn’t stop him from going in. It was finally safe and happy. I was also happy that I had helped to bring that particular turtle away from danger and back into the environment for which it was created. When the Ethiopian nobleman found the water, he went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:39). When the Philippian jailer believed and was baptized, he rejoiced with his entire house (Acts 16:34). It is a beautiful thing for someone to realize that they need salvation and then to do what the Bible says to do to get it. We read that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents (Luke 15:7). When we turn to God in obedience and accept his terms of pardon, he brings us back into fellowship with him, the environment for which man was created. Let’s resolve not to fight God when it comes to being in fellowship with Him!