Half asleep, coffee in hand, I opened my front door early one summer morning to check the weather.

While observing my pretty garden, I robotically stepped outside when I jerked back reflexively.

Golden Orb spider, Crane Point

There he hung … in all his blackness, red beady eyes glistening in the sunlight. One creepy spider had expertly constructed his home next to my front door without a building permit.

I resisted the initial instinct to fetch a broom and execute him. Instead, I opted for a photo opp. But despite my pajama clad attempts to immortalize him, my Nikon zoom lens is not highly powered enough to capture the mental image I wanted. Besides, imagine a middle-aged lady holding a camera, perched on her porch doing aerobics on a step stool as you drive by. Not good for real estate values. Then there’s that wicked public perception thing. Although I don’t need my neighbors approval, I want to be able to have open dialog about Jesus with them and being weird can jeopardize those chances.

Back to the web story.

The web got me thinking about sin. You know, that word modern society rarely uses anymore. Bad behavior in God’s eyes: sin. Immoral behavior of which the list is extensive.

Sin is like that web.

You don’t see it, so you stumble right in.

I know about sin because I am a sinner. Been there, done it. Faced its stinging consequences on more than one occasion. It left some wounds and I bear the scars. But my scars remind me of the lessons learned. They are now trophies of God’s grace in my eyes. I have emerged wiser, forgiven and grateful.

The allure of certain sin lies in its hiddenness. It whispers and we respond. It offers a sense of excitement, the adrenaline rush of getting away with something, (think crime or illicit affairs). Spiders like to hide, too, weaving webs in places obscured from usual pedestrian traffic. Bushes and tree hammocks are their notorious hideaways, like Crane Point Museum and Nature Trail in Marathon, Florida http://www.cranepoint.net/nature-trail.html. People often have clandestine affairs away from public view.

The truly unsettling part of this tale is that one week later, spider man’s web had doubled in size. I should have killed that creep before he built his second floor addition and installed the Jacuzzi. Sin has an insidious way of getting out of control way too fast.

The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

We don’t have to remain helplessly dangling, crying out “help me, help me” before we are eaten alive.  

Recognizing our mistakes in humility is the first step to rescue. God answers everyone who calls out to Him for help. Everyone – regardless of the offense. You won’t get the broom smack down, either.

Categories: Forgiveness Nature Parables Sin

Tagged as: forgiveness second chances sin sin is web metaphor spidey sense third chances

Kathryne

Christian author and inspirational speaker of truth that makes the darkness tremble. Author of two non-fiction books at https://linktr.ee/TattooedKing