I’ve had to move my Fitbit to my right arm because of a spider bite on my left wrist. I have no idea when I was bitten but there is no doubt what it is. It is classic when compared with pictures of spider bites on line. Forgive my childish fantasies but for a moment I was hoping I was as lucky as Peter Parker and the spider was radioactive. Maybe we never outgrow some of our childhood. I grew up on Superman comic books. I longed to leap over tall buildings with a single bound. Perhaps as I aged it became more of wanting to understand. That has become more interesting than physical feats.
I have been accused by some as living in a fantasy world when I write about our promised eternity with the Lord. The accusation is I have a juvenile religious experience. That’s okay. I enjoy my hopes and aspirations. I repeat Peter who said, “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power.” I wish I could say what follows, “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” I’m not. But I then rely on the following statement by Jesus Himself, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
And so my spider bite will slowly heal and will not leave me with Spiderman talents. That’s okay because Peter Parker was smitten with horrendous existential problems. Jesus takes care of those issues for us. We know who we are and where we are going. We are the sons and daughters of God and we are heading into a glorious future with Jesus as our Brother. We will never get that from a spider bite.
Written by Roger Bothwell on April 19, 2016
PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org