A parable

The story is told of a circuit rider in the back woods of Tennessee who, while riding home on a Sunday night, was chased by a bear into a panther trap, a deep hole lined with sharpened sticks. Hanging by an old root, hoping the bear would leave so he could climb out, the preacher man suddenly felt sharp pains in his legs. Looking down, he was being stung by a swarm of bees whose nest he had disturbed as he fell in the trap. His attention was turned above his head by the sound of chewing. A rat was gnawing through the root he was clinging to. As he gazed upward at this new problem, a drop of honey fell from the bee's nest and landed on his tongue. If he climbed out, the bear got him, if he stayed where he was, the bees would get him, and when that root gave, he was done for in the panther trap. What did he do? Reach for more honey.

The moral: Life is a panther trap, we will not get out of it alive. It is full of pain and death, but by the grace of God, the stinging bees make honey, and we must learn to reach for it.

The spiritual truth: The only true honey in this life is the pursuit of intimacy with God. Our sanctification is the only thing that will make us truly happy.

The problem of trying to be like Jesus, is that we must die trying.