A lesson from a gecko

Some years ago I was visiting a friend who showed me his pet gecko in a fish tank.  It is not the sort of pet I would want, but, well, whatever floats your boat.  Anyway, while I was there he fed this creature with a live beetle.  This insect was put in the tank and was quite happy to forage about among the leaves, blissfully unaware of its fate.

After a few moments the gecko spied the beetle, its eyes went a deep red and out popped its tongue to consume the unwary beetle.

As I thought upon this recently, I realised that there is a deep spiritual lesson to learn.  You may be wondering if I've finally lost my marbles!  What possible spiritual lesson can be learnt from such an incident?

The answer is remarkably simple; the way this beetle was ambling along, totally unaware of what was coming is a stark reminder of  non-Christians going about their daily lives not realising, or choosing to ignore, what is coming when they die.

As I pass out tracts I notice how most people seem to be quietly getting on with their lives, they are not hurting anybody, it seems, and they are content to put aside uncomfortable thoughts of death and the fact they will give account of themselves to God.  To give the devil his credit, he has done a good job of blinding them (2nd Cor 4 v 3-4) to the point that, even when they are offered the Gospel, with the concurrent warning of the need to get right with God, they politely decline.  Just like the beetle in the above story, they do not want to be disturbed, or have their comfort zone interrupted in any way.

Instead of condemning these poor creatures for refusing the Gospel, our hearts should be full of pity for them.  Indeed, in principle, they are no different from the car drivers going round a bend not knowing that on the other side there is a pile-up awaiting them.

Their situation is hopeless; at least, humanly speaking it is.   However, God, in His mercy, has not left Himself without witness - He is using preachers, evangelists, pastors, and and army of Christians who, while going about their daily lives, seek to take all opportunities to point out to them the only way to eternal life viz. through faith in Christ as the Son of God, and Saviour.

Are we going to rise to the challenge and give people the chance to get right with God?  Or are we selfishly keeping this vital truth to ourselves not caring a wit about the souls around us - soon to be eternally happy, or eternally miserable.

Only Heaven will reveal the good that has been done as we seek to tell others their need of Christ, and pray that God will be pleased to open their eyes and grant them repentance unto life - 2nd Timothy 2 v 25.