10 Feb My Favourite Stories #5
Australia has some bad snakes, in fact 7/10 worst snakes in the world can be found here. But I am Glad we don’t have Black Mambas! The deadly neurotoxin of a black mamba can kill a man in 30 minutes. Not only that, but they are also fast. They have been clocked doing 22kms / hour. They are also one of the few snakes that are territorial. Most snakes just want to get away and will only strike if cornered or surprised. What makes them even worse is that they can lift 2/3rds of their body of ground, which means they can climb trees as well!
This story came from Kenya in the 1950s. Albert live in a remote Kenyan village. One day he needed to make a journey to another village. As he left he picked an orange from a tree thinking it would provide refreshment along the way. He put it in his pocket.
Some way into journey a black mamba came from the bushes and latched onto his leg. Albert saw that it was a black mamba. Being so far from help, he knew he was a dead man. He sat on a log and waited to die. As he sat there, he said his prayers, committed his life to God and waited, and waited, and waited. After some time, he thought, “I’m not dying, what is going on?” Finally, after about an hour, he took the orange from his pocket and noticed fang marks in the skin. The orange had taken the bite and absorbed the poison. He was saved by an orange! (an appealing story right?)
The Bible says that Jesus has taken the sting of death and thereby absorbed the poison of sin by dying in our place. “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”! Corinthians 15:55-57 NLT)
Because of His death, burial, and resurrection we have hope of our own. Philippians 3:10 talks about, “The power of His resurrection.” In this power I believe. Next time you see an orange think of this story about Albert and the Black mamba and remind yourself of what Jesus has done for you.
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