It was a beautiful November morning. The air was clean, clear and crisp. The hunter sat motionless in his stand twenty feet above the ground. He felt the bite of the wind on his exposed face. His eyes began to water, but he dared not move in order to wipe them. He needed to cough, but by shear will power suppressed it for he could not afford to make any noise. The hunter was here for the purpose of harvesting a magnificent buck. The hunter had well chosen this spot from which to hunt this deer. He knew from extensive scouting that the buck would cross the trail below him. It was not a matter of “if,” rather a matter of “when.” The hunter’s equipment was in excellent condition. His rifle operated smoothly and his scope was adjusted to near perfection. He had only to wait for the inevitable.
The buck was moving at first light. Upon awakening he had laid very still listening intently to the sounds around him. Once convinced that all was as it should be, he stood and tested the air for any scent of danger. Now reassured that no danger was present, he cautiously made his way to a nearby water source where he satisfied his thirst. The buck then alertly headed down the trail that led to his favorite acorn trees where he would spend the morning grazing.
Because the hunter knew where to look, he saw the buck coming from a great distance. Because the hunter was a student of the nature of deer, he knew what the buck would do. Five hundred yards from the hunter, the buck suddenly froze. He lifted his head and tested the air. Something was wrong, but what? The buck turned and walked back into a little thicket of small trees and briers. Hidden in this thicket, the buck waited. After thirty minutes, the bucks hunger overrode his instinctive caution. He again headed for his favorite acorn trees where the hunter sat patiently waiting.
It is true that the buck proceeded with caution, but still he proceeded. He walked into danger not knowing that this would be the biggest mistake of his life. Within two hundred yards of the desired acorns, the hunter fired his rifle and the buck lost his life. How different it would have been had the buck identified the danger he faced. He would then have run from this danger as fast as his legs could have carried him. He may have been hungry for a short time, however, he would have been alive and safe. But, in reality, how could he have recognized the danger he was in? The hunter was well prepared; the hunter had gained a position above the buck’s normal line of vision; the wind was in the hunter’s face, therefore, the buck could not smell him. By placing his stand in the acorn trees, the hunter had exploited the buck’s greatest weakness. The hunter knew that the buck would take chances in order to reach a favorite food source. The buck followed the nature of his species and lost his life. If the buck could have employed the reasoning power of humanity, he would not have been such easy prey, or would he have been? There is another hunt in which humanity is the prey.
It is a day, just another day. The hunter is not concerned with the quality of the air, nor with its temperature; this hunter is not concerned with remaining motionless or quiet, in fact he is always in motion. “. . . your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8b). This hunter has felt the bite of eternal damnation. “. . . Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41b). The passion for the hunt is strong in this hunter, for he has little time remaining in which he may hunt. “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12b). The hunter knows the nature of humanity and has chosen his weapons well. Greed is well-oiled and slips easily into the minds of men. Lust is a high-caliber bullet which easily penetrates the hearts of men. The hunter is armed with greed, lust and other equally powerful ammunition. The hunt begins.
