When my wife’s father, Dr. Paul Goodwin, was a teenager in the hills of north Arkansas, a neighbor, Widow Jones, had a watermelon patch filled with ripe melons. Even though Paul knew it was wrong, he persuaded a friend it would be great fun to “swipe” some of the more abundant produce of widow Jones’ patch. So, the boys quietly moved through a strip of woods, climbed the fence, & each picked a ripe melon. Then they retreated into the woods & they feasted on the juicy, red melons.
Afterward, however, they were confronted with what to do with the incriminating evidence of the raid. After some deliberation the boys decided to place the leftover fragments of the melons under the culvert of a nearby dirt road. The ditch under the culvert was deep, dark, & covered with vines & thick weeds—a perfect place to hide the rinds. Who would look there?
The two boys thought they had committed a perfect crime! But, the one thing they didn’t plan on was the wandering cow of Widow Jones. Evidently, the cow smelled the leftovers of the feast hidden in the pipe & in trying to get at them had somehow lodged her head in a wooden structure surrounding the culvert. And widow Jones’ son found the entangled animal and more importantly he discovered something else.
And with this piece of evidence “Detective Jones” nailed the gang! You see, Paul Goodwin’s big toe was unusual in that it was somewhat shorter than the longer toe next to it. And Jones told his mother, “Mama, I’d know Paul Goodwin’s footprint anywhere!”
There was no open confrontation. Only a widow woman speaking to her neighbor, the mother of a thief. And this lesson, sooner or later all sin will be found out. This is why the Son of God went to the Cross & was raised again. So all who will turn from their sins in repentance & turn to Jesus Christ in faith as their Only Hope for eternal life will be saved, go to Heaven when they die. Have you done this, my friend?
[Adapted from “Reflections from Driftwood” by Paul Goodwin.]
In Spirit and In Truth The Word 