“Predators”This week I am making plans to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Recently, the aquarium has acquired a small Great White Shark and he is on public display in their enormous open water tank. These exhibitions are quite rare for two reasons: the Great White Shark, historically, has not been able to exist in captivity for very long periods; and the Great White Shark is one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. So I, like many others, will make the trek to Monterey to catch a glimpse of this fearsome beast; drawn to it not only for the rarity of the sight, but for the hint of danger that is associated with it. And, honestly, that’s what really fascinates everyone, isn’t it? We want to see what’s forbidden, we want to be in the presence of something dangerous, sometimes even exposing ourselves to that danger willingly, enthusiastically. Why do we do this? The short answer is thrill; titillation; excitement. The Great White Shark, along with bears and lions and tigers, are the apex predators of this world. These creatures possess size and strength sufficient enough to kill any other beast on the planet. The power these animals have commands respect, but all too often we see the consequences that result from not respecting the strength and abilities of these beasts. Often we read of divers and underwater film crew being attacked by the sharks they are there to photograph; of bear and large cat trainers being killed by their animals whom they have come to think of as pets; even we see stories of maulings and deaths at zoos when the public foolishly gets too close to the cages of these predators. Now most of us would never consider walking into a lion’s den, or a bear’s cave, or swimming with man-eating sharks. We recognize these situations as a danger to life and limb, so we avoid them, even flee from them, if necessary. But we should realize that there is a much more dangerous predator out there; much more fearful than a bear, or lion, or tiger or even a shark. This predator can cause damage like no other worldly beast. This predator can attack the soul, and cause everlasting eternal death. Satan is that predator, and we walk into his den everyday, we swim with him all the time. Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:28, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” We read in 1 Peter 5:8 that Satan “prowls about as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”, and I often wish that he actually visually appeared to us as a roaring lion, or an angry bear, or a ravenous Great White Shark. How easy it would be to identify the danger we are in; how eagerly we would flee from his presence. Like those who pay horrible consequences for failing to respect the power, strength and ferocity of the predators we have here on this earth, we too can pay dearly for not giving Satan the credit he is due; for not respecting the power and strength and influence he has. We often think that we, too, can cage the predator Satan, to tame him. We hold him at arm’s length and we think that he can’t reach us, that his reach isn’t long enough. And why do we hold him so close? Why do we keep him so near? We keep him close to us for the excitement. We want to be close to danger, and we want to be titillated. We want to be as close to the Great Beast as we can get, but just far enough away to be out of his reach. But we must remember than Satan won’t be contained by iron cage bars, or tempered aquarium glass. There is no “safe distance” when it comes to viewing Satan. If you can see him, he’s too close. — Paul Seely, September 11, 2011 |