Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada, and welcome to Joni and Friends.
I love rabbits; I always have, ever since I was a kid. I used to sleep with a stuffed rabbit and, as you’d guess, his name was Rabbie. I grew up and I still had a thing for rabbits – I used to even collect little porcelain ones from my travels to different countries. And about a year ago, after we did some landscaping in our backyard, I was so delighted one early evening to look out the bedroom window and (oh, my goodness, oh, quick, Ken, come and see this if you would…), there by the garden gate was a cute little bunny, this little baby rabbit. Little white tail, pink ears, just sitting there munching grass. He was so darling, I named him Twilight. And every evening thereafter, after I got home from work and before it got dark, I’d look out the bedroom window to check to see if Twilight were there. Yes, he was… and one or two times, he had a friend with him.
That was a year ago. And, yes, I’m still looking out my window on occasion to check on that rabbit… not because I think he’s so cute any more, but because I want to yell to Ken to quick, get out there with a hose and get that stupid rabbit out of our backyard. Friend, you ought to see what these rabbits have done to our pansies and our alyssum, lobelia and petunias. I mean, it’s awful. The once beautiful borders of flowers edging our lawn – they used to be gorgeous; but now, those borders are chewed to the nubs with nothing but roots and chomped-off stems sticking up out of the dirt. Believe me, my opinions of rabbits as of late have done a 180-degree turn. I do not want Twilight and the rest of his varmint friends in our backyard! Sure, I still have some affection for my rabbit collection, but that’s about as far as it goes.
The other evening as Ken and I were doing our nightly devotional reading, I thought about my complete reversal of affections for rabbits. We got to that verse in Romans 6:17 where it says at one point we were blind, we couldn’t see, we didn’t understand, we didn’t know… but now, we are free, we do understand, we are glad to obey, we’ve done an – as Christians – an about-face, a 180-degree turn, when it comes to the old life. And it’s not just a matter of our will; no, it involves our emotions. We no longer have affection – that was what hit me – for our old way of life. Being a Christian means not only “doing” those things which please God, being a Christian involves your feelings, your affections, and your emotions. What you once loved, now you should despise.
And when it comes to sin in our lives, I think our emotions kick in when we truly realize how damaging sin is to our souls. Maybe sin was deceptive before, maybe it beguiled us, looking harmless and even attractive (like that cute little rabbit in my backyard)… but with the Spirit of Christ, what once seemed harmless and attractive, we now know is destructive and damaging. Hey, friend, God wants to cultivate a beautiful garden in your life. Join me in chasing away any sinful habit that tries to disguise itself as cute and harmless. Don’t let little foxes – or little rabbits – spoil the vines that God wants to grow in your heart.
Friend, thanks so much for these special few minutes that we have been able to share together, and because this program is called Joni and Friends, please note that I would love to hear from you, so drop me a line on Joni’s Corner at joniandfriends.org or you could always contact us at P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, California 91376.
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