There I was, sitting in the bathroom at the Camp in the middle of the afternoon. Straight ahead 3 feet is the sink, to my right is the door. I was kind of zoned out, just thinking, and suddenly I saw movement under the door. It was the strangest thing, I saw the head of a snake and a few inches of body slowly come under the door, look up at me, and then slowly slither back out. Now this was a first for me. Never had I seen a snake in the house before, let alone have one visit me in the bathroom. It did not freak me out at all, because at first I thought someone was messing around with me. So I went out into the hallway, and sure enough, there it was, slithering away. Of course, I snatched him up and took care of him. So just a random occurrence or spiritual lesson? Well, I am not one for hyper spiritualizing things and at the same time, I am not a believer in coincidence. The door is a point of entry — into our mind, hearts, body, ministry. There’s a breach under the door – an open way of access. Snakes typically represent the enemy and are associated with sin. They can also represent something negative that may happen. This one was a small snake. He just slowly tested the waters by subtly entering and withdrawing; as if waiting for a response. Isn’t that like the enemy? He slowly sticks his head into our lives and looks around to see if we will respond or if we are too preoccupied to notice what he is doing.
It’s interesting that in the Bible, the serpent starts off as a deceiver of mankind, and ends up as a mighty dragon bent on the destruction of the world. Is it any wonder that is how the pattern unfolds in our lives as well? It starts out as a small garden snake, looking around, and if we allow it to roam unchecked, it becomes a destroyer. But we have such hope in this fight against the enemy and his wily ways… Jesus Christ, our salvation. “We need help in our battle against the ancient serpent and from the very beginning, God has promised us a Savior….The Lord Jesus is our serpent-crusher. He is our dragon-slayer. And we long for that day when he returns in the clouds to establish His kingdom on this earth, when all of creation will be restored in a glorious way! In the meantime, we are vigilant, as St. Peter says… keeping a watch against the enemy. And as St. Paul admonishes, clothing ourselves with armour against his certain attacks.
So an sly little snake sticking his head under the door? Out you go. I don’t want you hanging out around here.