Arachnophobia For Some – However Spiders Are Wonderful Teachers Series

ARACHNOPHOBIA FOR SOME – HOWEVER SPIDERS ARE WONDERFUL TEACHERS

I prepared this about 20 years ago, so when I use “today”, well - it was back then. Here we make applications to Christian living derived from the habits of spiders.

This is an address rather than a sermon and prepared for smaller groups but it can be used as a sermon. It is something I’d love to do with a data projector (we don’t have one). I have shared this message it a few times in different places.

ARACHNOPHOBIA! It puts fear into some people. Spiders cause all sorts of reactions – screams, shaking, running away, hysteria, fright, jumping on chairs, panic and anxiety, sweating, rapid heart beat, and even nausea in some people. Some may think me strange but I like spiders. That might be because I am a photographer and really appreciate the excellent photos you can get when shooting these furry creatures in macro mode.

I love nature and study it and photograph it, be it birds, insects, spiders, crustaceans, flowers, creeping things, and especially rainforest fungi. The Lord gives me thoughts on various subjects and sometimes I write them down. This is about spiders – they are great teachers.

Today (a few years have passed since then) I did some cleaning up in the lounge room where I have too much stuff – computer gear, files, papers, books, camera items, etc. Then I vacuumed the floor and noticed spider webs around the ceiling and the curtains, and vacuumed the spiders that were there – rather smallish ones. In Australia they are called “daddy longlegs” spiders (Pholcus phalangioides). While I was sucking them in, I was struck with the thought of their persistence. There is one thing certain – they will be back! Some thoughts regarding spiders, I felt compelled at the time, to put together:

*** 1. THEY CHOOSE THE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS POSITIONS. Most of these I came upon today, are found up where the ceiling and walls meet, and the best place was in the four top corners of the room. There they get traffic from all positions and take advantage of the corners. They sit there silently and wait, exhibiting great patience. They have extremely good eyes, often multiple eyes, usually eight, and can see what is around, all around. God made them that way, so in the room corners they wait and watch.

As Christians, we should always be on the look out for the most advantageous positions for the work to be done – the gospel outreach and other ministry. We need the most strategic resources for fellow Christians in need. We must be diligent with eyes open, seeing what is around us. I suppose this is a bit like being out on the highways and byways. There is probably too much expended effort in Christian work, and money wasted which is poor stewardship, when we ought to be aiming at the best advantage with the limited resources. To take advantage of the times and resources we need people the Lord has qualified, not ones who think they know best.

*** 2. THEY CLAIM THE MOST STRATEGIC PLACES. Have you noticed how fond spiders are of lights, and window areas where insects and bugs are attracted by internal lights? Have you noticed how some have taken the best possible positions in tree boughs and between trees, constructing large web areas in the flight paths of insects? One family of spiders fascinates me, and that is the jumping spiders. They are small with perfectly rounded multi-lens eyes but they know which bush or plant or leaf will give the best results. They wait there and when a tiny insect comes, not even tiny in some cases, they will jump on the victim. They have quite a toxic poison and saw a jumping spider totally paralyse a Ulysses butterfly probably 40 or 50 times its size

With our Christian resources, we must make the best strategic use of those resources as possible. Meaningful, purposeful. We must spread the net wide between the trees. The parable of the wedding feast infers that they must almost be compelled in. That is determination. We must go to the “lights” of this world to catch the lost souls. Jesus did. He associated with the publicans, prostitutes, the needy, and he met people “on their own turf”, I think the expression is. He did not hesitate to speak in synagogues, from boats, on hillsides, outside a tomb, on a well, and at feasts. Some Christians have laid strategic claim to the Internet in these days with great success. Of course, so has the enemy.

*** 3. THEY WORK ENTHUSIASTICALLY. Have you ever watched spiders make webs? They know the task in hand and work with purposeful enthusiasm until the web has been completed. Up, down, back, forth, in, out. What I like about it is the logical approach they have, not disorganised or higgledy-piggledy. No complaining, just dedicated commitment to the task they have.