Thursday, March 11, 2010

Dragons

I have given you authority to trample on snakes…and to overcome all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19).

When I was young, dragons were evil. Fairy tales always pitted the heroic knight against these powerful creatures, in order to rescue the princess from death or save the kingdom from destruction. But modern fantasy has rehabilitated the dragon. In books and movies, dragons are often friends or allies; some even allow humans to ride on their backs as they soar through the skies.

I wonder why dragons have lost their fearsome image. People generally don’t like reptiles, snakes in particular—and a dragon is a huge snake with wings. Maybe it has to do with the thrill that comes from flirting with danger, the kind of thrill that makes roller coaster rides so popular. Or maybe it’s about a fantasy of empowerment; a person might seem strong and confident if she can ride a dragon without fear of being eaten.

The Bible sometimes pictures Satan as a dragon. In the Garden of Eden, the devil spoke lies through the mouth of a serpent, lies that triggered sin and brought death into the world. God cursed all serpents as a result; many believe this is why most humans have an instinctive dislike for snakes. But the Old Serpent is no small threat; he is hugely dangerous, which is why Scripture refers to him as a dragon—a snake of tremendous size and power.

Even little snakes can be deadly. They can slip into a camper’s tent unnoticed and inject you with deadly poison. Larger snakes are killers too; every year there are news stories about snake owners found crushed to death by a constrictor they thought was friendly.

Despite the fantasy, dragons represent great danger. It is foolish to flirt with risk; making friends with evil will bite you in the end.

We can be thankful that God is on our side. Jesus came to crush the serpent’s head under His heel. Satan wants us dead, but Jesus died so we might be filled with His life. The Old Serpent is still dangerous, but he cannot destroy us—not so long as we have Jesus at our side, grinding the devil’s face down into the dirt.

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