A Snake at Easter

Easter Sunday was a grand church service with people accepting Christ, a blessed time with the Lord. Arriving home, the first thing I saw was a snake about 14 to 16 inches long and about as big around as a pencil resting along the shoe molding in the living room. I said, “You stay there; I’ll be right back.” I went to the garage and decided an axe was the best weapon available. When I returned he was still where I left him. Well, I axed him. As far as I was concerned that was the end of it. As I tell the story, however, the first question from friends has been, “What about your hardwood floor?” It occurred to me that I had never considered the floor. Now I realized why they call it hardwood. That axe didn’t make a dent.

The more I thought about it, I realized there was a moral in this incident.  If the snake represents the presence of evil, the devil, then one of our biggest faults in facing him is, “What if...?”  I had not considered the consequences of axing the floor.  We need to face Satan with the same resolve. We don’t need to consider “What ifs” when we face the forces of evil. How often does Satan win because instead of striking a blow for Jesus, we stop and worry about how we are going to look if we take a stand?   When Satan raises his ugly head we need to have our “axe” ready to strike. After sharing this story with a friend she said, “How does Easter fit in?”  Well, it does.  How appropriate!  On Easter Jesus crushed the head of Satan.  It is finished.  Jesus conquered Satan and transferred that conquering power to us.  Our mandate is to face the forces of evil with the tools Jesus has given us, sharpening our “axe” going out to battle and claim victory.  No more “What ifs.”

John 19:30   “When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” and He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.”