Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Hello, dear ones.

Well, we’ve made it this far into the New Year. So far so good. Except when I went to fire up my sawmill yesterday afternoon, something gave out in the electrical connections. I never was able to resolve it. After sending this, I’ll carry on with a bit more troubleshooting. Looks like I’ll have to do so in the dark.

No, I didn’t get that chicken-killer critter. But I finally saw him at about 5:50am. A big fat raccoon. He had scampered up into the big cedar tree over the chicken house. I turned the light on him and there he was looking at me only about 30 feet away with a defiant grin on his face. And me without my pop-gun! I should have stood there and disturbed the neighbors by whistling till Becki responded so I could instruct her to bring the rifle. But by the time I returned he was just scampering down a branch hanging over the fence and he was gone. Phooey! If we had a GOOD dog, he would have kept him up the tree. But this Dandy dog almost makes me swear sometimes. He even lost another ball while on our walk/jog this morning.

We attended a memorial service for a dear lady in Sandy today. The testimonials surrounding her life helps us recognize the important things in life—things more important than the Ducks beating the Seminoles, more important than nailing that chicken-killer coon, and more important than having a wonderful dog. Hey—I wonder if dog meat would be good coon bait? Just kidding.

Blessings on your evening—or whenever you get this. In fact, have a blessed New Year.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Wow! Is that any way for a preacher to talk to people visiting one of his crusade meetings? It sounds pretty rough and disrespectful, doesn’t it? But just a minute—I’m reminded that Jesus Himself used the same expression of condemnation in much the same kind of setting. He did so not just once, but at least twice. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus said to the hostile Pharisees, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Then amidst Jesus’ “woes” of chapter 23 He says, “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” (Matthew 23:33-34)

Notice that following each time the expression is used there is a powerful rhetorical question that no one ever seems to answer. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath?” “…how can you who are evil say anything good?” “How can you escape being condemned to hell?” Notice too that each question underscores the certainty of God’s intolerance of unrepentant sin. It also underscores the importance of doing everything I can to avoid being deserving of those questions.

I just looked up the word “brood” in the dictionary. Consider this definition option: “The children of one family.” Suddenly, I’m reminded of the verbal conflict Jesus had with a group of Pharisees over in John 8. That’s where Jesus declared, “You belong to your father, the devil…” (John 8:44)—in other words, “You’re one of the devil’s kids!” I’m connecting some dots. If there are only two kingdoms—that of God and that of Satan—and whereas the devil is presented as a serpent (the spiritual father of human snakehood) in his scheme to orchestrate the fall of mankind—and whereas we are all members of that family/kingdom prior to the transformation of being “born again” and made “sons of God” (John 1:12)—then we all begin as a bunch of snakes!—members of this same “brood of vipers!” Ouch!

But once again the glory of the Biblical Gospel explodes before me like a fireworks display. While it is confirmed that in the eyes of the Almighty I am either a son or a snake, His AMAZING GRACE makes it possible for snakes to become sons! Talk about a marvelous miraculous metamorphosis! Just for good measure, let’s quote it once again: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12, KJV). Wow!