Trapped.

     I am leading an online Bible study and this week we studied this verse it brought back a memory of an object lesson that my Father used for children in the various schools where he taught.  This is what I wrote in response to studying these verses. 

     Whatever the cost I must be willing to give up that which I cling to. I must let go in order to save it. My Dad used to use a teaching tool for children. He made a wooden box with a small hole in it. He put a box of candy in the box. He would have the children in the class come up and try to get the candy out of the box. By holding on tightly, their fists became too large to pass through the hole. Their hands could reach in, but their fists could not come back out. The harder they tried the harder it was. 
     
     The story he told was of a monkey in a jungle. Trappers used boxes like these to trap the monkeys and take them from their homes. While the monkey was working so hard to get its fist out of the box filled with sweet berries, the trappers came and carried it away. If the monkey had just let go of the berries, it could have gone back to its family and home.
    
      I feel like many of us are like those monkeys. We cling to the treasures of the world and Satan comes and takes our lives and freedoms away. But if we can learn to let go of this world and its treasures, we can keep our lives and have our freedom in Christ.