Uniting Brazil (intro)

Updates on the Brazilian mission



Tuesday 7 August 2012

The Scorpion


A conservationist was out in the jungle with her team, tracking the path of an endangered specie of scorpion. She managed to find a beautiful specimen just before it crawled it's way hurriedly into a passing river and consequently began to drown right before the nature team. Instinctively she jumped into the river and reached out to grab the creature before it drowned, but the scorpion stung her. Undeterred, though hurt, she reached in again only to be met by the stinging tail of the critter.
This battle continued for a while, before one in her team asked, "Must you persist? You're being attacked mercilessly!" She continued reaching in for the scorpion, and continued being stung. He cried out again, "Please stop! This animal clearly doesn't deserve to be rescued!"
She replied, difficultly through her fighting, "He does only what he knows to do! He knows no better. I must do what I know to be best for him despite his resistance!"
 
How often do we play the scorpion and resist the love of friends or family or mentors or someone around us that cares? How often do we resist God when all He is trying to do is try bring about the best for us, after all He does know better. But then, how often do we walk away from people in need because they react in a way that is only indicative of all that they know? We allow them to drown in a pool of their trouble because we don't want to get into a difficult situation with them.
 
I was told this story by a man who runs the rescue house for street kids in Sao Paulo, and he related it to these poor children who grow up with no discipline or concept of love. He warned me that they will hurt the very people trying to help them, but only because it's all they know. We need to remember our role, and stubbornly insist on carrying them to a brighter future of hope.