The Tick

Yard work in Central Wisconsin often comes at a cost. If it's not the mosquitoes and biting flies that get you, it's the bees, wasps and snakes that get your attention. But by far the worst backyard nemesis has got to be . . . The Tick.

The tick is a silent killer that stalks the tall grass. They just hang out, waiting for something tasty to come along, and they hitch a ride . . . on their dinner. And that "dinner" awaits for them if they can remain undetected on their clueless victims.

It's not hard to draw the comparisons between the parasitic life forms in our backyards and Satan. All are distractions to our normal, preferred way of life. They want to suck the life-giving blood from our bodies and prevent us from doing what we were created to do - love and worship.

These pests, and I include Satan amongst them, bring disease and discomfort into our lives. They also can bring death. Such is the way of the Devil.

So, we basically have two choices. The first is the least dangerous and probably the smartest - never go into the tall grass again! Stay away from the sinful world and its entanglements. The farther we are from it, the better the chance we have from becoming consumed by it.

The second option is the best option, in my opinion. To be IN the world, but not OF it. God placed us here in this world for a reason. To simply lock ourselves in the closet and not engage with others in the world seems contrary to God's plan for us.

I believe we should be right in the middle of "the tall grass", fighting against the parasitical elements it contains, while spreading the best pest repellant the world has ever known. Love and The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." - John 17:14-21

Greater - MercyMe