The Bear Facts

Brighton was excited as she and her father took their places on the tree stand. It was the first time Dad had taken her bow hunting. As Brighton squinted into the low sun, her gaze froze on something large and black among the trees. She nudged her father and whispered, "Dad, look! What's that? It's coming this way!"Just then the animal stood on its hind legs, and they saw that it was a large black bear. It raised its head and sniffed the air. Brighton and Dad quietly watched in amazement; this was a rare sight in that area. Still sniffing, the bear cautiously moved toward the edge of the woods. Sitting on its haunches where it could see the area beyond the woods, it gazed longingly at a field of unharvested corn. After several minutes of checking and smelling, the bear ventured cautiously toward the cornfield. It hesitated when it reached the edge of the field, then turned back to the safety of the woods. Driving home later, Brighton talked excitedly about the bear. "Did you see how much he wanted to get that corn? But he didn't go get it. I wonder why.""He probably sensed danger, and he was too smart to take a chance by going out into the open," said Dad. "We could learn a lesson from him." "We could?" asked Brighton.Dad nodded. "That bear was wise to avoid going into danger, and we need to be wise too. We need to think about how our actions affect others and avoid putting ourselves in situations where we might be tempted to sin. The Bible tells us to think carefully about the way we live, and we can do that because we trust in Jesus and have His Spirit in our hearts. He gives us wisdom and guides us in how to live so that others can see we belong to Jesus."When they got home, Mom asked about their hunting trip. "Don't make up some big story about hundreds of deer," she joked. "Just give me the bare facts."Dad grinned and winked at Brighton. "All right," he said. "We'll give you the bear facts!" - Lois A. Teufel