The Eight-Legged Type

Why did God create spiders? I’ve wondered that myself. To keep the pests away? To capture and relieve us of flies? They must have a job, but how intimidating they can be.

I recently came across a story about what has been termed the Huntsman spider. It can grow as large as your hand, and rather than make webs, it hunts and forages for food. It’s a fast, agile, and relentless predator when it comes to insects, flies, cockroaches, crickets, and even lizards and small birds. However, while a bite can hurt, the Huntsman is nontoxic to humans.

Last year, one headline announced, “Aussie Family Horrifies World By Letting Humungous Spider Stay In Their Home For A Whole Year.” Others news outlets boasted similar titles. A family in Australia had not only allowed but welcomed a Huntsman as a “member of the family,” sharing how she will go from room to room eating bugs and other insects. The family received comments online saying that they should move out, but they insisted that they were grateful for the spider and intended to stay, at home with their new friend.

This story, though relatively insignificant, reminded me oddly of our relationship with Jesus. On the one hand, toward us, He is virtually harmless. He is on our side and desires only our good. On the other hand, He remains an intimidating and ferocious predator, intentional and merciless when it comes to anything in our lives that isn’t supposed to be there, but only if we let Him.

Our first impulse upon seeing a Huntsman might be to throw it out. Indeed, our friends may even like and encourage the idea. Its size unsettles us and, despite its relative harmlessness to humans, remains a powerful reminder of its ability, purpose, and strength.

Similarly, some may think we should live without the protecting presence of our Christ. It may make us and our friends less uncomfortable, and the roaches we hear in our walls others may think aren’t that bad. Yet we know better and can’t imagine living without this quick and stealthy predator who moves about and preserves the home of our hearts and protects us from what which is deadly.

I think of Deuteronomy 23:14, the context of which is God exhorting Israel to preserve cleanness and holiness in the camp: “For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you.” Elsewhere, God promises to protect the man who loves and acknowledges Him (Ps. 91:14) and protect the way of His faithful ones (Prov. 2:8). There are promises for the protection of God. However, we must acknowledge Him and make room in our lives for Him to do His work.

A final note here. Every type ultimately falls short. Pictures are just a shadow, which means that while our Christ can keep the deadly pests and pollutants away and root them out, He also gives us something new. His purpose is not to keep up the mediocre home we have that is falling apart. He prepares us for a new home in a better land, where we shall live in “peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest” (Is. 32:18).