Recently my children and I witnessed something incredible. We saw a black wasp dragging a cane spider across the ground. Cane spiders are about as big as your hand. Very fast and very scary. What kind of wasp could challenge one of those guys and win? But here he was dragging his victim along. We thought it was dead, until one of us got too close and scared the wasp away, and the spider was moving really slowly, like it was semi-paralyzed. Then the wasp came back and kept dragging it, in a straight line, across the parking lot, and into some bushes.
Turns out, it’s called a Spider Wasp. It stings its prey, paralyzing but not killing it. Then it drags it back to its nest, where it implants its eggs into the paralyzed spider. The eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the victim, eating it from the inside out. What a horrible death!
That’s a picture of what sin does to us. The difference is, when we choose to sin, we are the ones who sting ourselves! Sin separates us from the life of God, paralyzes us from walking in freedom and victory, and keeps us from enjoying fellowship with God and living out the perfect life He planned for us.
James 1:15 says “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” And it’s a rotten death too! Who wants the guilt and shame to fester and eat them from the inside out?
All of humanity has fallen prey to the desire and the action of sin, and all of us are under the sentence of death because of it. We may feel like we are being helplessly dragged along to an eventual death by temptations too strong for us to overcome, but thank God, He has provided a Savior!
2 Tim 1:10 says that Jesus Christ has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Through his death and resurrection, we can have our sins forgiven, and the fellowship with God restored. We can be set free from the power of sin, reconnected to the life of God, and become his very own children, with the promise of eternal life!
“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1Cor 15:55-57
As you look around at the unsaved world that you live in, be aware that sin is eating those people from the inside out, leading to their eventual death. Don’t sneer at people who are in bondage and paralyzed by the merciless sting of sin. Motivated by pure love, let compassion swallow your fears, step out in faith and lead them to Jesus today.