Snake Bitten—Part 2
By Grant Gaines
Last week we started to look at Paul’s long parade of misfortunes and zeroed in on one particular episode in Acts 28. To refresh your memory, Paul had just escaped near death on the open sea as the ship he was on sank just off the coast of a small Mediterranean island called Malta. Here, Paul and company were shown great kindness by the locals who, “…built a fire and welcomed [them] because it was raining and cold” (Acts 28:2, NIV).
Paul was determined not to be just another shell-shocked victim, after all, he had already been a passenger on two shipwrecked expeditions before. So Paul began to gather firewood to help nourish their only source of warmth, when we learned in Acts 28:3 (NIV) that, “…as [Paul] put [the pile of brush] on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.” Not only was Paul figuratively snake bitten, he was also literally snake bitten.
We learned the importance of identifying and shaking off the “vipers” in our own lives—the fear, anger, pride, hatred, anxiety, and the like—that are driven out of our hearts by the heat or trials. The reason shaking off those “vipers” is so important is for two reasons. First, if you don’t rid yourself of the venomous sins that pop their ugly heads when you find yourself in a difficult situation, guess what is going to happen the next time you find yourself in a similar circumstance? Yep, you guessed it, another viper will fasten itself to you. The second reason shaking these “vipers” off is so important is because, well, you know what? Let’s just read the rest of Paul’s snake bitten story in Acts 28 to find out.
You know the story, Paul throws the firewood on the fire and out jumps the poisonous viper to sink its deadly fangs into Paul’s hand. “When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live’” (Acts 28:4, ESV). Even the islanders were acknowledging that Paul was both figuratively and literally snake bitten!
Like a car wreck going in slow motion, the natives could not take their eyes off of this unlucky fellow. They knew what the outcome was—you get bit by a viper, you die. But that’s not what happened. After Paul shook the vile creature loose, “… [Paul] suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god” (Acts 28:5-6, NIV).
Paul was completely unnoticed by the locals until there was a viper hanging from his hand. Wouldn’t you agree that the same could be said about us? The “locals” of this world—unbelievers (Acts 26:18)—typically won’t notice Christians until there is a “viper” hanging off of their hand. It’s in this time of trial that the world fixes their eyes on us as Christians to see how we will respond to the storm we have just been thrust into.
The world wants to know if this Christianity thing is real or not. And just as we discussed last week, no season of life proves the validity of your faith quite like trials. “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world” (1 Peter 1:7, NLT).
That is why it is so important to shake those “vipers” lose from our lives—because the world is watching. And do you remember the islanders’ response when they saw that Paul suffered no ill effects from the viper’s deadly bite? “…but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god” (Acts 28:6, NIV).
Isn’t it interesting that because Paul was not harmed by the viper the islanders thought he was a god? It just goes to show that there is something so noble, so honorable, so valiant about handling trials with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) rather than the fruit of our flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). The world has to acknowledge a divine presence in our lives. Now, our goal is not for others to think that we are gods as they did in the case of Paul, but rather that we serve the only true God by the way we handle the difficult seasons of life with such grace.
Does the way you handle trying times echo to the world the fact that there is a Mighty Deliverer who not only gives you the strength to persevere, but is your Strength to persevere? Do people look at your life and say that there is no way you would have been able to handle that cancer treatment, that unemployment, or whatever trial you’re going through without the help of a higher Being because you persisted with such dignity? If you first take care of those “vipers” in your heart like we talked about in last week’s lesson, it will be.
“Snake bites” will happen no matter how many preventative measures you take—trials will arise, there’s no question about it. The only matter you do have a say in is how you respond when those snake bites happen. How will you respond to those painful snake bites today?
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
©Grant Gaines 2013
