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Mitch Todd About Mitch

God's Web

"...of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive." —Genesis 6:20b

I hate spiders. There are few things in this world that I will level such a strong word against, but spiders are one of them. They creep. They skitter. Some of them are venomous. We share nothing in common. There could be one on you right now without you even knowing it. Or me! YIKES!

When I see a spider... I do one of three things. 1) I "calmly" get up and leave the room. 2) I shudder from head to toe. 3) I squash it. Sometimes I'll do #2 and then #3 and then #1.

I know that spiders are important in the food chain and our ecology, but somehow I feel we could all adjust to a world without arachnids, couldn't we? I think back to the story of Noah and the flood and I marvel at the cruel injustice that kept the Unicorn off the boat, but allowed the Brown Recluse on. I'll watch Spiderman, read Charlotte's Web, and sing about the Eensy Weensy Spider without a second thought, but put me in a room with a real one and there's going to be a problem.

But here's the thing! If you've ever been out in nature on an early morning, you've probably seen this amazing site: A perfectly formed spider's web, glistening with dew. Intricately created, reflecting the rays of the sunrise. How can you look at a spider's web and not know that there's a God? Sure, I'm not a big fan of them in the corners of my room, or walking into one along a path, but I have a deep respect and admiration for the spider's web. It reveals God's creation to me.

So here's what I've been puzzling with the past several weeks: How can I hate spiders but claim to love spider webs?

The answer is... I can't. If I'm going to look at a spider's web and see God's handiwork, I've got to be able to look a spider right in the eye (all 8 of them) and see the same thing: God's handiwork. That's a tall order for me, but I have vowed to work on it. I'm gonna try to be a little nicer to spiders.

You know, once you've been caught up in God's web... you can't help but view the world (even spiders) a little differently. God continually reminds us that beauty comes in packages we might have once thought weren't so beautiful.

Be on the lookout: You may just catch that person you don't get along with acting with compassion towards somebody else. Gotcha! You may hear someone of another political persuasion say something that actually makes sense. Gotcha! Maybe you'll find some old prejudices don't stand up anymore in light of the actions of a person or group of people. Gotcha! God spins a web of love and wraps us up in unfathomable possibilities.

I can't imagine that I'll be keeping spiders as pets anytime soon, but I do have a new world to explore: A world where there's room for both me and those creepy crawly eight-legged creatures, too. It turns out we do have something in common after all...

We both came over on the same boat.

Have a good week,

Mitch
rmitchelltodd@yahoo.com

Discussion Questions

1. Share how you feel about spiders? Any other creature/insect that gives you the willies?
   
   
2. How do you respond to creepy crawly critters?
   
   
3. What do you think would happen if there suddenly no spiders? What about mosquitoes? Crocodiles? Snakes?
   
   
4. Using Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience, discuss the story of Noah and the Flood. Is it a factual story? Is it a metaphor? Is it history? Is it an allegory? What do you think?
   
   
5. Can you think of a time when you disliked someone but were forced to rethink your opinion of them? What caused you to change your mind?
   
   
6. The spider spins a beautiful web. But would about cockroaches? Should we appreciate cockroaches more?
   
   
7. Unicorns are mythological figures. However, if you find a King James version of the Bible you can find several mentions of unicorns in verses like: Numbers 23:22, Psalm 22:21, and Psalm 92:10. What animal does your translation of scripture have? Why the differences in translation?
   
   
8. How does it feel to be "in God’s web"