One day Mr. Hogan, a farmer living in Kentucky, drove his car out to one of his fields. This field was part of the floodplain of the nearby river and was just now dry enough to begin planting. His tractor and planter had been left in the field overnight as he had been working there the day before.
It was a warm spring day, so he left the car door open while he unloaded bags of seed from the trunk. Returning to close the door, he just caught a glimpse of the tail of a snake disappearing inside his car.
Now most snakes in North America are not poisonous, but the family of snakes called pit vipers are poisonous. These have a deep pit or hole in front of each eye. This family of snakes includes copperheads, rattlesnakes and water moccasins, and all of these live in the state of Kentucky. Mr. Hogan saw only part of the snake’s tail, but it looked to him like a water moccasin. He knew these lived in the area near the river, and he also knew they were poisonous and would bite if annoyed or upset. He decided it would be best not to drive the car as long as the snake was in there.
His car was not new, but Mr. Hogan found good use for it. Now something had spoiled its use for him. This reminds us of the Garden of Eden which God made perfect and beautiful for man to enjoy. But Satan came into that lovely garden through the serpent (snake) and spoiled it. He caused man to sin, and ever since sin has ruined all God’s wonderful creation. Along with the sin came death: “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:1212Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12)). Sin brings death more surely than the bite of a snake, and we have all been bitten by sin. But what a relief it is to read, “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)).
Mr. Hogan cautiously began looking for the snake. He even removed the seats but could not find it. He wondered if he had made a mistake. But no, he knew the snake had to be in there somewhere.
Each of us knows, or should know, that we have a sinful nature. We read in the Bible that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). “All” means everyone-including you and me. The only One who lived on this earth and did not have sin in Him was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Don’t be tricked by Satan. He will tell you to forget about your sins, because you are not as bad as someone else. But the facts remain-“all have sinned,” and “the wages of sin is death.”
Not finding the snake, Mr. Hogan decided to call an expert to come kill it. The man, called an exterminator, closed the doors and windows of the car and filled it with a poisonous gas. Two days later Mr. Hogan found the dead water moccasin under the dashboard.
Satan, “that old serpent, the devil,” came into this world hoping to destroy man. But for any man, woman, boy or girl who trusts in the Lord Jesus, Satan has been defeated. The Lord Jesus, by His death and being raised from the dead, has defeated the power of Satan.
Mr. Hogan did not have to know everything there is to know about snakes to understand that a water moccasin is dangerous. And you do not have to know very much about sin to understand that you need to be saved from it. If you are not saved, why not accept the Lord Jesus as your Saviour right now? You can go through life happily (or until the Lord Jesus returns for His own) and be at peace with God.
ML-05/01/2005