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The parable of the bear and the rabbits
Copyright by Bob Rogers.
Once there was a colony of rabbits who lived by a forest. Although there were some dangers, such as a bear named Covey in the woods and a snake in the Vax River, most of the time they lived peaceful, happy lives. The forest was overflowing with fresh grass, weeds and wildflowers to eat.
One day, just as the herd was grazing together along the Vax River, Covey, the big bear appeared from behind the trees, snatched up some rabbits in his paw, and ate them. The terrified rabbits ran, but they were trapped by the river behind them, and a fence to the sides, made by the Man. As they darted back and forth, the bear continued to grab rabbits and eat them. One rabbit shouted, “Jump into Vax River!” Others shouted back, “We can’t! The snake may be in the river! God will rescue us!” Many jumped into the river, and swam away, but many others stayed in the nest. Soon, a large part of the colony had escaped to the other side of the river, but the bear continued to gobble up those left behind. The rabbits on the other side of the river called to the others, pleading with tears, “Please jump in the river and swim over!” But the rabbits who remained in the nest shouted back, “Don’t tell us what to do! The snake may be in the river!” The rabbits on the other side called back, “The snake didn’t bite us! We tested the river, and it’s safe!” But the rabbits in the nest said, “The Vax River hasn’t been tested long enough! Maybe you were bitten and just don’t realize it yet. The venom may yet kill you.” The rabbits on the other side said, “No, we were not bitten. We trust the river.” The rabbits in the nest said, “We trust in God. God will protect us.” The rabbits on the other side said, “God protected us when we crossed the river.” But it was no use. Despite the pleading of the rabbits on the other side of the Vax, the rabbits who remained in the nest were more afraid of the Vax than Covey.
The rabbits on the other side of the River Vax ran to another field, far, far away. The rest of the colony continued to flee Covey, and the bear grabbed them and ate them, one by one. Then Covey went off in search of other rabbits.
Eight post-pandemic uses for the face mask
Copyright by Bob Rogers.
As Americans approach “herd immunity” against COVID-19 and are rarely wearing face masks anymore, I’ve been thinking what to do with all the extra ones lying around. I came up with a few ideas:
Eye cover for sleep. When I’m sleeping late or taking an afternoon nap, I can put it over my eyes instead of over my mouth, and presto! I have a sleep mask.
Protection from the cold. This past winter, I wore my face mask while riding the bicycle on cold days, not to protect from the virus, but to protect my face from the cold. It helps!
Protection against bad breath. A good surgical mask can really block out smells, so if I’m dealing with somebody with bad breath (theirs or my own), I might still come up with an excuse to wear it.
Clipping your fingernails. Why make a mess clipping your fingernails? Set that mask in your lap, and clip them over the mask, to catch them from falling. (See below)
Mowing the grass. If I have grass allergies, I might still wear a face mask while mowing the lawn.
Clean your glasses. Need a small cloth to clean your glasses? Just grab your mask.
Blind date. If you are going on a blind date and you are unsure whether you want to cut and run early, you can wear the mask and sunglasses so they don’t recognize you.
Making a quilt. Here’s my favorite idea. Give all the leftover masks to grandma, and let her make a quilt in memory of 2020.
Have you got any ideas? I’d love to hear in the comments below.
Saturday, Day of Waiting
Article copyright by Bob Rogers.
Like Wednesday of Holy Week, nothing is recorded in the Gospels about what happened on Saturday. However, we know about the day because Mark 15:42 tells us that they buried Jesus before sundown on Friday, so they could rest on Saturday, the Sabbath. Nothing more is recorded until Mark 16:1 tells what happened on the first day of the week, which was Easter Sunday. (Matthew 27:62-66 does record that on Saturday, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, agreed to post guards at the tomb of Christ.) Saturday was a day of waiting and wondering what would happen next. They had no idea anything good was going to happen the next day. They just had to wait on the Lord.
Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) says, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Saturday, the day of waiting, teaches us to wait on the Lord. Waiting can be excruciatingly hard.
We have all agonized waiting. Maybe you waited to get a job or get a promotion or get a date or get an important phone call or get a test result. Right now, the whole world is waiting—waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to subside. Many of you are sheltered in place, worried about your health, worried about your job, wondering when this will all end. This kind of waiting is very, very hard. This was how the disciples felt that Saturday before Easter when they waited. They wondered what was next, and they did not expect it to be good. After all, their leader had been arrested and crucified.
The Hebrew word for “wait” in Isaiah and Psalms is a word for a chord, or rope. The idea of the word is that God has thrown us a rope, and asks us to hold on, because He has the other end. That’s why “wait” in Isaiah 40:31 is also translated “hope” or “trust.”
What’s more, you and I know the rest of the story. We know that on Easter Sunday, they got news more wonderful than they could ever imagine, because Christ arose!
That is why we who are followers of the Risen Christ can wait on this Saturday, because we are Easter Sunday people. We can wait on the Lord, for even when we don’t know what the future holds, we know Who holds the future—His name is Jesus, and He has already conquered sin and death and the grave and hell. We can wait in the uncertainty of Saturday, because tomorrow is a certain Sunday!
Bob Rogers 