In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives a little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it.

Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine. They don't set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree. They smear the entrance and interior with grime. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home but doesn't enter because of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life.

The Lord wants His people to keep themselves separated from the filth of this world at all cost. In today's Bible reading, the Lord told the Jews to put a blue thread on the borders of their clothes (Num. 15:38). When they saw the blue, they were to remember God's holy purpose for their lives and to keep a distance from sin.

Do we remind ourselves often of our high and holy purpose for living?  — Henry G. Bosch