The Legend of Two Wolves

Jamar loved the smell of the pine forest mingling with the smoke from campfires as he and his dad sat in the outdoor amphitheater at the national park campground. They were listening to the park ranger talk about wolves. Near the end of his talk, the ranger said, "I'm going to close with a legend that has been passed down for hundreds of years." Jamar relaxed against a log, eager to hear the story."Many, many years ago," began the ranger, "a Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson. 'Inside of me are two wolves,' said the grandfather, 'and they are having a terrible fight. One wolf is evil--full of hate, lies, anger, greed, and jealousy. The other wolf is good--full of peace, love, truth, sharing, kindness, friendship, and generosity. That same fight is going on inside of you.' "The grandson looked concerned. 'But which wolf will win?' he asked."The wise grandfather replied, 'The one you feed!'"As Jamar and his dad walked back to their campsite, they talked about what the ranger said. "That story has a lot of biblical truth!" said Dad. "The Bible says a fight is going on inside us as Christians. Our old sinful nature--the selfish desires all people are born with--fights against the new spiritual nature Jesus gave us when we trusted in Him." Jamar was silent for a bit, then sighed. "And it's a lot easier to feed the bad wolf, isn't it?" "Sometimes it seems that way," said Dad. "The world's way of doing things is all around us, and we have to be careful not to feed on its false messages. That's why it's such a good idea to start each day by feeding the good wolf." "Like reading the Bible and praying?" asked Jamar. "Exactly!" replied Dad. "As we focus our minds on God's truth, it helps us remember that our sinful nature doesn't have to control us because Jesus has freed us from sin. He's made us new people, and we have the Holy Spirit within us to help us resist temptation. One day Jesus will give us new bodies and our sinful nature will be gone forever, but until then, we don't have to let the bad wolf win." –Lore Wolif