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Fig Leaf Aprons
by Jerry Ousley When I was a kid (and frankly that little boy still lurks in me after fifty-nine years) one of my favorite movies was the Tarzan series. And not just any old Tarzan mind you, it had to be the old black and white's with Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan and Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane. As a matter of fact, I've got a DVD collection with several of those old movies on it. Oh how I admired him, swinging through the jungle on vines and out-swimming crocodiles in the river. He could stand face to face with a roaring lion, commanded the apes and elephants to help him when he got into a situation he couldn't handle on his own, and he always came out the winner because he was "The Great White Ape." I could picture myself wearing that loin cloth and doing the things he did. In truth, I was so small and skinny then had I been Tarzan it would have looked more like a spider monkey on steroids. I would have constantly been pulling up the loin cloth to keep from being embarrassed and the knife he carried would have required both hands to hold it up. The first time I'd have met up with one of those big snakes (pythons I believe) I would have dropped that loin cloth and headed for civilization raising a cloud of dust behind me. The loin cloth worn by Tarzan reminds me of the story of Adam and Eve. They had it made if anyone ever had it made. They were perfect in appearance, character and action. There were no wild animals they were there but all of them were tame and harmless as a little kitten. All of them ate plants and vegetables and there was no killing for meat. They had the run of the place. They could spend their days resting by a lazy river, jump in for a swim without fear of pollutants that might be in the water (or being chased by crocodiles), or just take a casual stroll through the garden, picking fruit as they went. No briers or thistles were around to prick their fingers, and no stickers to walk around. It was perfect beyond imagination (and I've got a pretty good one). The only thing was that they were naked, but because of their innocence they didn't even notice it. What a wonderful place it was. Then comes along the devil disguised as a serpent; at that time the Bible tells us that they went upright. Whether they somehow stood on their tails as they went along, or whether they had legs of some sort we aren't told. However science tells us that some species of snakes have bones that might have been legs at one time. They use this as evidence of evolution but if they had legs in the Garden of Eden and then lost them after the curse, wouldn't that explain a lot of things? In short, the couple yielded to the temptations of the devil, eating of the forbidden fruit and in a day's time everything changed. The first thing they noticed about each other was that they were naked and the Bible tells us that they were ashamed. In their feeble attempt to clothe themselves they made skirts or aprons from fig leaves. I used to think that these were great big leaves, but in reality they are very small leaves. That means that they had to somehow sew them together. We all know what happens to leaves after a while they dry up. I can picture the couple trying to hide from God as He showed up on the scene. Those fig leaf aprons were probably beginning to crumble and they rustled as they crouched in the bushes. All of man's attempts to make himself better, no matter how noble they might be, aside from God they are just like those skirts of fig leaves. They will soon wear out, crumble and fall to the ground. Without God, we are even helpless to adequately clothe ourselves! Are you depending on fig leaf aprons to get through life? There is a better way but it will require you to throw yourself on the mercy of the Great God Almighty. Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |