The Gum Shoe Gecko

Romans 12:9

Hate what is evil and cling to what is good.

It defies gravity, walking up walls and across ceilings; it is harmless and only an inch-and-a-half long if you include its tail. When frightened, it gladly parts with a 1/3 of its body in order to live another day. No worries though, as it will regenerate itself in short time. Who or what is it? It’s the gecko.

There are 670 species of geckos around the world. They are found in deserts and jungles, and they like living in homes where they are excellent at controlling insects, while leaving almost no trace of their presence. We ourselves for years had a Wolf spider problem around our home. However, recently as our gecko family has populated, the wolf spider has become virtually extinct. They are amazing little creatures. But the feature of the gecko that inspires the most wonder is its ability to effortlessly walk up a wall or across the ceiling. And to my amazement, I’ve never once seen one fall from the ceiling once I flip on the porch light to see the skitter in a blur.

To accomplish this neat trick the gecko has pads on his feet. Under the microscope these pads look like tiny pincushions. Each microscopic bristle contains even smaller branches, enabling the gecko's foot to hook, with these microscopic hooks, into the smallest irregularities. Some geckos have over a billion of these hook-like hairs on their feet! Incidentally, this explains why geckos can move much faster up the side of a rough wall than across a smooth tile floor. This also explains why they walk with that funny skitter-wiggle. Each foot must be unhooked before it is lifted for the next step.

Unfortunately, when the gecko is stuck to a wall, and the wall falls, he will fall with it. The connection the gecko has to the wall is his lifeline. He is so dependent upon this cling relationship that he is actually physically unable to leap from the falling wall to avoid danger. The same is true of us. If we flirt with sin. If we play in the grey area. If we cling to evil - we will become so dependent upon it that we end up going where the evil goes and feeling as if we couldn’t depart from it even if our life depended upon it.

Good news though, it is not by our own good intentions, but only through Jesus Christ that we are released from evil through the forgiveness of sins. The Bible tells us in Romans 12:9 to “Hate what is evil and cling to what is good.” For we will all one day stand before GOD’s judgment seat (Rom. 14:10). And when that wall of sin falls, you will be protected. For Jesus Christ’s blood paid the price for your sins and mine. Therefore, we are no longer stuck to the wall of sin but have been freed. Free to live a life of righteousness, faithfulness and joy.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, make me more uncomfortable when evil comes before my eyes. Do not let evil cling to me, but wash me clean in Your blood, and give me Your peace. Amen.