I Did Not See That Happening

I know how tempting it must have been for him. He was four years old, and he loved watermelon. And there it sat — a big, round, sure to be juicy, watermelon. It was right on the edge of the cabinet. Everyone told him to leave it alone, that Mom and Dad would cut it up later. It was explained that it would be too hard for him to lift it and that if he tried he would drop it and it might split open on the floor. Sure that he understood the danger, everyone went on about their business.

Until there was a loud thump, and there it was; watermelon on the floor cracked right down the middle. Everyone turned around and saw what had happened. You could sense the various feelings among the adults: disappointment, frustration, surprise, and anger. But before anyone could do or say anything, that four-year-old looked up and said,

“Well, I never saw that happening.”

Obviously he thought he could handle it, he just knew he would not drop it, and he must have thought that none of us knew what we were talking about. Right up until the moment it fell.

It was just a watermelon, so the damage was actually pretty minimal. And since the boy in question was my grandson Austin I thought it was actually funny. But it reminded me of how so many people go through life.

The devil sets up temptations in your life. You may know that you are not supposed to do something and people warn you of the consequences if you do. Maybe you do not believe them, or you do not really hear the warnings, or you do not believe bad consequences can happen to you.

Until everything crashes down. You just really did not see that happening. Until it did.

God sent Jesus to forgive our sins and to heal us from the consequences of our bad decisions.

If you just did not see your life turning out the way it has, and you wish it could be different, write to me at steve@hopeforlife.org or visit our HopeForLife.org website.