The Snake

THE SNAKE

October 7, 2009



"Come see this, hon. It's the biggest snake in the world."

Jackie was sitting with her Apple (selah! :))...viewing a short clip someone had sent her on Facebook.

I approached, bent over and peered into the screen....hmm...a fat smoothe body on a very long ledge, long, long, long......looks like an anaconda, I thought....and the camera kept moving until it got to the head....beady eyes, retractible jaw.....and suddenly it hissed loudly and lunged at the camera, no...it was lunging at ME.
I jumped back, literally, startled....heart racing, prayers of repentance coming from my lips (just kidding).

"You've got to see it again," Jackie said.

I said, "OK." and leaned over again, telling myself, this time I'm cool. This isn't real...I know where this is going. Not to fear.

And once again this huge serpent passed before my eyes. And lunged again at the camera....and again I leaped backwards, now thoroughly embarrased at my instincts.

Instincts deeply ingrained by too many National Geographics and TV Amazon trips.

Instincts deeply ingrained in me - by God.

Interesting...
It was that way in century one. Paul, shaking off a serpent that had biten him. Power given to believers to withstand the attacks of serpents. The snake in the first garden - with his bite translated into an apple. The snake on the pole, prefiguring Christ, Whose only ever death and resurrection would forever offer the snake threat and snake-bite cure to all of us.

And I remember the time I literally drew breath and jumped back...as though it was a snake I was facing.....but this time it was venom on the screen -sexually corrupting images - intended to poison the sex-life and moral purity of anyone who would linger and be mesmerized by its steady evil gaze. Any person, if not "jumping back," would be wraped up, coil by coil intil the breath of life would leave them....and the final bite would be eternal death.

So thank God if/when you jump back. Praise God for the racing heart when evil looms large in front of you. And get out of there. Turn it off, turn away, run.

Stay clear of the snakes....they are under a lot of rocks along the pathways we travel.

With you in the racing-heart-and-jumping-back club.

David