In Central Africa there are some very large hairy-legged spiders. Some of them are almost as large as a saucer, and have two horn-like fangs for injecting poison. Many of the Africans say that their bite is as bad as a snake bite!
Would you like to hear the missionary tell about an experience he had with one?
"One day when I went into the kitchen I saw one of those huge spiders! So I hurried away and brought back my spear.
"Standing about five feet from the spider, I began to play with it. I touched it lightly with the end of my spear. After doing this several times, I noticed the spider started to stand up higher. I took the spear, touched it again, and then stood the spear about six inches from my leg.
"Suddenly the spider stood up on its two back legs and leaped toward me! Five feet through the air it came, and landed upon the spear! Clinging to the spear it tried again and again to inject its poison into it, until I could see the poison running down the spear handle!
"When I saw that my leg was only six inches away from the spear, how glad I was that the Lord had given this little creature the ability to aim straight! I was glad, too, that the spider knew that it was the spear that had teased it, and not my leg! I then tramped on it, and killed it.
"How foolish I was to play with such a dangerous thing! You boys and girls would perhaps know better than to do that. But are you playing with an even more dangerous thing?-are you playing with sin?
"Sin is a deadly plaything! Is just one lie, just one filthy story, just one disobedience so dangerous? Yes, for God says these things are sin, and, 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die'!
"The only way we can get rid of these dangerous things in our lives is through accepting the Lord Jesus as our Savior. Then His blood cleanseth us from all sin.
"A few years ago an African came into our part of the country with a box of snakes. He would take them out, and play with them, and put them back into his box again. He claimed that the heathen god he worshiped would not let these snakes harm him.
"Many of the villagers were afraid of him, and would give him clothes and things to eat if he would keep the snakes from harming them. He made his living in this way-playing with dangerous things!
"About a week after he left our village he went to another place about twenty miles from us. There he took his snakes out again, and began to play with them. Then as he was picking them up to return them to the box, one of the deadly snakes bit him. There was nothing the frightened people could do for him. Within a half hour the man died after most terrible pain!"
Do not play with sin, dear young reader. The Lord Jesus will save you from sin's penalty and from its power. He is waiting for you to come to Him and ask, 1 is forgiveness; for, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7).