Creatures of the Swamp The Wayfarer
Creatures of the Swamp
Romans 12:2
King James Version (KJV)
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The environment in which we choose to live shapes thought patterns. Those thought patterns determine actions taken, all too often in conformity with those very environs.
Creatures living in a swamp are subject to the dangers of that swamp as long as they continue to remain in that swamp.
The unquestioned king of a swamp is the creature with the greatest strength and cunning, often being the alligator.
The alligator is capable of stalking its prey, unseen, swimming beneath the currents of the rivers and beneath calm waters of ponds and lakes that make up the environment of the swamp it rules.
By the time that prey is aware of its presence, it is far too often too late to take flight to safety away from the swamp.
That prey, then, becomes mere carrion, dead meat, which nourishes the alligator for its next hunt, leading to the next victim to be devoured as insatiable appetite abates for the short durations between victims.
Why then do other creatures come to that swamp exposing themselves to its dangers?
They do so because of the beauty that belies those dangers, because of the pleasant fragrances of the flowers that exist alongside the camoflaged dangers.
They too seek nourishment and the "rewards" offered by the swamp.
Many merely visit that swamp, and escape safely to the environs for which they are intended, but, many are devoured because of their "visit".
They overstay the period of safety, which is indeed brief as they are distracted from the dangers they are not intended to be exposed to.
Even the eagle that ventures into the swamp and remains too long enthralled by the wondrous plentitude is subject to becoming a part of that carrion if safety is not sought quickly enough.
The creatures of the swamp, great and small that have adapted themselves to its environment cannot exist long alongside those adapted to higher ground.
The snakes that loom in the trees must also have the comfort of the stagnant water and the creatures living there, and cannot reside on the higher ground where that stagnation is not possible.
Man is a creature of choice, unlike his fellow creatures, far more adaptable to environs that change around him, but even man, once having chosen to remain in the swamps must ever be aware of its deception and its dangers, or he too becomes merely carrion despite that adaptability.
John 15:16-27
King James Version (KJV)
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.
23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
Jesus recognized the dangers of the greater swamp created by and inhabited by this creature called man, and its spread beyond the confines of any border, further obscuring and camouflaging its dangers. He assured us of the safety available through Him despite the distraction offered by those concerned only with the acquisition and storage of still more carrion, those who refused to leave that swamp for the safety higher ground, and those in need of reminder that they remain constant prey as long as they remain within that swamp.
He also promised passage to the safety of the environs originally intend for those who managed to survive the swamp despite the distractions that were offered.
Eagles are not intended to reside in the swamp, but to soar above it, residing in the loftier realms of safety for which they are created.
The currents on which they soar do not hide or camouflage that flight as do the currents within the swamp.
Isaiah 40:31
King James Version (KJV)
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint
Choice must be made daily between swamp and its wondrous distraction and the clarity offered in the environs available only outside the depths of that swamp.
2 Corinthians 6:17
King James Version (KJV)
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
Amen and Amen
The Wayfarer
The Wayfarer
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