In the early fall, one thing that I always notice as I'm delivering the community newspaper on my route is the abundance of spider webs. It seems that the tiny creatures sense the onset of winter and prepare by working assiduously to "fatten up" by spinning lots of webs. The reason that I notice this particularly is that with alarming regularity in the early fall, I literally run into these webs. The worst happens when the webs completely cover my face from ear to ear! Two days later, when I run into a reconstructed web in exactly the same location, I have double the trouble!

Intrigued, I did a bit of research on spider silk. I found out that spiders can spin up to seven different kinds of silk, like strong dragline silk, or fine gossamer silk, on which they can float in the wind. The tiny spinnerets extrude silk by having it pulled out, rather than being forced out from inside. The silk is five times stronger than the same weight of steel and is tougher than Kevlar. It is composed of two proteins, one aligned lengthwise along the strand, and the other in a spiral formation. This allows some silk to stretch up to five times its length without breaking. I find it very difficult to understand how anyone could believe that such a remarkable material was developed purely by chance, rather than being divinely designed.

As I pondered the miracle of such tiny strands, I began to think about the strong bonds of love that tie us to Christ, our Saviour. Sometimes, we stretch our relationship with Him by wandering away, perhaps by losing our first love, or by straying into sin. The tie can be stretched, but can never be broken, for Jesus promised:

John 10:28-29 – And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. (NKJV)

One recent morning, I emerged from our house into the sunshine, which illuminated a huge, fresh spider's web. It reminded me of the interconnectedness of Christians in the body of Christ. God never intended us to be Christians in isolation, for we can do much more for Him together than we could ever do alone. The apostle Paul gives us guidelines for how we can make that network function best for God's glory:

Colossians 3:12-14 – Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. (NKJV)

Prayer: Lord God, the wonders of nature bespeak Your glory, and we stand in awe at what You have created, both large and small. Strengthen our relationship with You, for we want it never to be broken. Grant us the grace to get along with all those with whom You have placed us in Your body. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Robin Ross <rross@telus.net>
Mission, British Columbia, Canada
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