Roly Polys in a Jar
In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14 (NIV)
Spring is right around the corner, and with it comes an event I like to call The Freeing of the Roly Polys. It goes like this: My kids and their neighborhood friends scrounge in the dirt around the yard looking for Roly Polys and other bugs and creatures. Then they place their finds in jars and containers. Usually these jars get left behind as the children get distracted and move on to other things.
That’s when I step in. In an effort to save these poor critters from certain death by heat stroke or starvation, I gather up the kids and give my best explanation of the problems associated with leaving bugs in jars. The kids never seem interested with my warnings about impending doom for creatures left to bake in jars without food or water. However, I usually prevail, and the helpless critters are set free. Still, some bugs are forgotten or misplaced, and these less fortunate creepy-crawlies are found days later—dried up and dead.
I was thinking the other day about our own plight as humans. We’re kind of like those Roly Polys in the jar. We were trapped by our sin and unable to escape our trouble—until Jesus set us free when we placed our trust in Him. Scripture tells us that Jesus came to set the captives free.
It is only Jesus, God’s Son, who can redeem us from our situation and free us from the trap our sin had put us in. Today I’m thankful that Jesus redeems and sets the captives free.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” Luke 4:18 (NIV)