PrintWeaving a Web
As I sat on the porch one morning earlier this week, Sammy the Spider (not his real name!) distracted me from my reading by weaving his web between two small branches. What began as a distraction quickly became fascination. Back and forth hewent. Round and round. What patience! What skill! Then, having completed his construction, Sammy settled down in the middle of the web…and waited. And waited. I take it that somewhere out there is a small, unsuspecting insect that may well end up on Sammy's breakfast menu.
The next morning I was keen to check on the success or otherwise of Sammy's project. There he was, unmoved and unmoving. Just waiting. There appeared to be nothing caught in his web during the last 24 hours. Maybe he was dead? Could he have died of starvation? Curiosity got the better of me. I just had to know. So I lightly touched the web. Sammy moved so fast that I jumped back, not because he was big but because he was so quick to respond.
I checked again this morning and Sammy is still there. Waiting. If the saying, "All good things come to those who wait" is true, then Sammy is in for a feast!!
The Bible uses the image of the snake to convey the idea of the devil and his craftiness. The devil is also likened to a roaring lion searching for its prey. But I wonder if the image of a spider and its web could be a good one for Satan? Especially the idea of weaving a web and patiently waiting to pounce when the prey gets caught.
I know it's not popular these days to believe in a malevolent, supernatural being who is passionate to destroy the image of God wherever that image is found. I also know it is not popular to believe that each member of the human race is made in that image and is, therefore, the primary target for what the Bible calls the devil and his schemes. One of those schemes or strategies is to weave what I would call a web of ignorance. Professing to be wise and enlightened, many an otherwise knowledgeable person has been caught in the web of ignorance and deception that denies the very existence of the spider that was responsible for weaving that web in the first place.
There are many aspects about Sammy that fascinate me but if I had to pick one, it would be his patience. It seems to me that the devil is patient, too. He seems to be in no rush. Whether it's today, tomorrow, next year or in the latter days of one's life, he doesn't care. When he catches us is not the issue. So long as the catch happens, that's all that matters to him.
