Remember the Duck?
By: Romualdo Sente, Jr.
Did it ever occur to you that coming to God is not as easy as it seems especially when you know that you’ve offended Him?
I remember when I was a kid and did something terribly bad that made my mom went from a dormant volcano to a full scale eruption. I was so scared and embarrassed that it took almost a week before I could muster enough strength to come and talk to her. Seeing the fear and remorse in my face she gently pulled me next to her, lovingly patted my head and forgivingly said, “Don’t do it again, son.” When she did that, I feel like a ton of weight has been lifted up from my shoulder.
Having assured of her forgiveness I asked her if she can give me money to buy a toy. She looked at me again but this time her face looked strange. Her eyebrows were raised and her eyes were getting a little bit bigger than normal. With a firm voice she said, “Don’t push it!” So I didn’t. Though I wasn’t able to buy the toy that I want I was still happy because I know that my mom has already forgiven me.
There is a story about a little boy that was visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.
As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch the next day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.”
Then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally just smiled and said,” Well that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” She whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s…he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done…and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face whatever it is, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing…He has seen your whole life.
He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness He will forgive you without condition.
In 1 John 1:8-9 (CEV) it says, “8If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn’t in our hearts. 9But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.” God doesn’t want you to be aloof, ashamed, and embarrassed to come to Him because you’ve offended Him. Instead, He wanted you to come to Him for forgiveness so He can pour out His rich blessings upon you. Being assured of His forgiveness, the devil could no longer make a slave out of you.
