Thank you for helping to support Peace Devotions through your prayers, likes, and shares.
If you’d like to support our ministry financially, you can donate here.
The Porcupine Dilemma
Ever heard of the porcupine dilemma? Just like porcupines huddle together despite the risk of poking each other, we're called to stick together in the church, despite our flaws. Jesus endured pain for us, inviting us into his love and forgiveness.
1 Peter 2:24-25
There was a German philosopher named Arthur Schopenhauer who spoke about the porcupine dilemma. How is it that porcupines are supposed to stay warm in the winter time? If they come and they they huddled together, the problem is their quills are going to poke each other. They’re going to cause pain to one another. So should this mean that because I experience pain, I should abandon that group huddling together, go out on my own? If a porcupine does that, he would go out and freeze to death.
No, it’s necessary to stay together. I think this is a beautiful picture for us within the church as we struggle, sometimes huddling together with other people, sometimes being so close to each other, those quills are going to poke us and cause us pain, and our quills are going to cause pain to the people around us. And yet for us, as Christians, we are encouraged to bear with one another, to encourage one another, to support one another. We are encouraged to show love to one another.
And we do that, we are willing to put up with the pokey quills of the people around us, because we realize that our Lord Jesus was willing to come and huddle with us here in this world. To experience pain at our expense. He suffers the pain of our sins in order to save us, in order to rescue us, so that we won’t freeze in the cold winter of this world and in the cold winter of our sin. Let me share with you from First Peter chapter two, verse 24 and 25.
He [Jesus] himself carried our sins in his body on the tree so that we would be dead to sins and alive to righteousness. By his wounds you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you are now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:24-25)
It was our sins that caused our Lord Jesus pain, and yet he was willing to endure those he desires for you to come to huddle with him, to have the love and forgiveness that he has and that he desires for you, so that you can be with him forever in a place where there will be no more pain in the glories of heaven. Peace be with you.
