No Mercy
Death of Jane McCrea by John Vanderlyn
This painting was made at the end of the 18th century in America when the native American people had great animosity and hatred for the white settlers that were fast encroaching on their lands. The woman, Jane McCrea, looks to be a cultured white settler. She has on a beautiful dress with a fashionable sash.
Her soft white skin is of a woman not subject to hard labor. She has been treated well. But now she is on enemy ground. She looks into her captors eyes to plead for mercy but there is none.
I am reminded that when we believe in Christ and take our place in him we remove ourselves from enemy ground. This occurs because our sins are forgiven and the power that sin has over us in life is broken.
But when and if we fall back into sin, we place ourselves onto enemy territory once again. Satan is ready and waiting to catch us back in his camp so that he can kill us. The Bible says that "he prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour. " 1 Peter 5:8
It doesn't matter if you've grown up in a good and wealthy home. It won't matter that you are a man or a woman or even a child. It won't matter whether you're important to others or not. There is no mercy for us if we willingly stray back into Satan's camp.
We will be caught and killed as surely as Jane McCrea was. Our spiritual life will be shipwrecked and another victory tabulated by the enemy of our souls.