Romans
Before I go to bed I let the dogs out to do their thing. A most amusing pattern has developed. Dusty, our Labrador Retriever runs around the perimeter of the back yard and grunts—a well refined canine message! He knows if he barks I’ll get mad at him for waking our great neighbors. So he’s modified his approach to accomplish his objective—scare the whiskers off the cats next store and forewarn the raccoons that it’s a good time to vacate. It doesn’t matter if an active heartbeat is anywhere near, every night he’s going to run down the fence line with his hair at attention while his lungs expel a guttural warning. I happen to know it’s all show—but to the surrounding creatures he is their nemesis. If it were not for the fence they would be in trouble.
In Greek mythology, Nemesis was the goddess of retributive justice or vengeance. The American Heritage Dictionary defines a nemesis as an unbeatable opponent. Those of us who love God have a nemesis. He lurks ever ready to take us down. His name is Satan. But the real god of vengeance is not invincible. Once he operated with virtual impunity against all people. But God in His creative grace gave us something far better than a fence—His holy Son. When we place our trust in Jesus we receive protection the devil cannot defeat. He can roar, intimidate, tempt, cause suffering and grief but he cannot destroy us. The God of peace rules. The Son of God saves. So the next time you feel the heat from the world’s biggest bully, call on the name of Jesus and watch who goes running!
Inspiration
