One day while I was at the office, I received a telephone call. The caller said, "I'm standing out in front of the office. I need you to come out here, but don't come out the front door." Not fully understanding what was going on, I walked up to the front door and looked out. There, lying stretched out across the front door was a Black Snake.

It was huge. It must have been 80 feet long and as big around as a bus. Well maybe not, but I have a healthy fear of snakes, so it sure seemed that big to me.

Please, don't even try to explain to me that a Black Snake isn't poisonous, it's a "good" snake to have around, blah, blah, blah-bitty blah. I don't care. It's a snake.

How can I tell you what happened next and still retain some vestige of my manhood? I can't. Oh well, I can live with it.

My secretary pushed past me, a broom in her hand. She opened the door a few inches and prodded the snake with the broom handle. The snake quickly slithered into the bushes at the side of the door and the caller was then able to come in. Still, we both kept looking over toward the bushes, knowing that even though we couldn't see it, the snake was still there.

Cole had woken up sick that morning, so I'd brought him to work with me. A couple of hours later, when it was time for us to leave, I did something that I later thought was pretty profound. Even though I have such a strong aversion to snakes, I opened the door, stepped outside and stood so that I was between the bushes that the snake had slithered into and Cole. That way, if the snake lashed out, it would strike me instead of Cole. I put myself in between the snake and my child so that my child would not be harmed.

Kind of like what Jesus did, isn't it? In Genesis 3, Satan is described as a serpent. He lashed out at Adam and Eve, and he's been lashing out at God's children ever since.

But when Jesus came, he placed himself between us and Satan. He allowed himself to be crucified (Matthew 27:32-44), taking the "death strike" that Satan dealt him in order to protect us. And because he did that, those who accept Christ as their savior no longer have to worry about the eternal consequences of sin (Romans 8:1).

What a wonderful, loving savior he is!

Parrish Myers is pastor of Pine Crest Baptist Church in Gainesville.
His column appears every other week in Sunday Life.