Tomorrow ushers in another firearms season for whitetail deer in most of the Valley. Muzzleloading season in Shenandoah County officially begins one half hour before sunrise Saturday morning and will continue until one half hour after sunset on November 18.
How do I know that? Because I read it in the annual game law booklet published by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Contained in that digest are all the specifics for every season involving game animals in the Commonwealth.
A few years ago I ventured to Colorado where I was fortunate to bag a nice mule deer buck that now hangs in my office. It was necessary, however, to do a little research about their game laws for they are different than ours. And the same is true for every state.
Even in Virginia, some laws change from year to year based on population levels, research, and other factors. It pays to spend a little time prior to the season figuring out what is legal when and where.
Game Wardens will not be sympathetic to defenses of, “I didn’t know that was illegal.” The old adage is that ignorance of the law is no excuse. It’s not just about what we know but about what we should know. Every sportsman knows and obeys hunting laws.
One strategy is to ask another hunter. And although that may be helpful, if we ask the wrong person, we’ll get the wrong information. Ultimately, we are responsible to pay our own tickets if we believe something in error.
Thankfully, Virginia’s game laws are not difficult to find as they are free and available wherever hunting licenses are sold and are also accessible online. The same is true for most other states.
In a similar fashion, God’s expectations for us are also not hard to locate or understand and thankfully they don’t change. They are easily found in the Holy Bible, copies of which are available in more locations than hunting laws and free copies are readily obtainable.
Since we will all appear before God’s judgment seat one day, it behooves us to know His expectations. Just as with game wardens, ignorance of God’s laws will also not be a legitimate excuse for our disobedience. We can depend on others to explain it to us, but ultimately, they won’t be responsible for our guilt or innocence. We will.
As we study God’s Word, we notice that His laws are very strict and demanding. Although Jesus boiled it all down to loving God and loving neighbor, we’re all guilty of breaking both multiple times in multiple ways. So what’s a person to do?
Thankfully, that Bible also tells us of God’s provision for lawbreakers like us. In mercy, God provided a perfect sacrifice for our crimes. His Son lived a holy life and then died a substitutionary death in our place suffering for our guilt.
This free pardon is open to all who will receive it. Even the worst of us lawbreakers can appropriate Jesus’ death for our own and receive not only the forgiveness it provides, but also the love, joy, and peace that come with it!
It is important to accept Jesus as our Savior, however. Pleading ignorance of God’s existence, laws, grace, and mercy will not be an acceptable defense. Romans 1:20 declares “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
Just as we owe it to ourselves to know whatever laws govern our hunting or other activities, how much more so those pertaining to our eternal destiny. If you never have, take time to research God’s laws and expectations as well as His generous abundant gift of grace through Jesus and respond accordingly.
Looking forward to hunting legally, George