Jude 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Over the beauty of the plum and the apricot there grows a bloom and beauty more exquisite than the fruit itself — a soft, delicate flush that overspreads its blushing cheek. Now, if you strike your hand over that, and it is once gone, it is gone for ever, for it never grows but once. The flower that hangs in the morning impearled with dew — arrayed as no queenly woman ever was arrayed in jewels — once shake it so that the beads roll off, and you may sprinkle water over it as you please, yet it can never be made again what it was when the dew fell silently upon it from heaven. On a frosty morning you may see the panes of glass covered with landscapes — mountains, lakes, and trees blended in a beautiful, fantastic picture. Now lay your hand upon the glass, and by the scratch of your finger or by the warmth of your palm all the delicate tracery will be obliterated. So there is in youth a beauty and purity of character which, when once touched and defiled, can never be restored. Such is the consequence of crime. Its effects cannot be eradicated; it can only be forgiven. Parallel Verses KJV: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. |
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