The Ambition of a Burmese Python in the Everglades

The Ambition of a Burmese Python in the Everglades

No, I have not gone geographically goofy! It’ll take more than a sack lunch to go from Florida to southern Asia, but because some pet owners have deposited their no-longerwanted pythons into the Everglade Swamp there have arisen some interesting ecological dilemmas. The most spectacular one I have seen had pictorial documentation to prove itself. There, in the black and white of today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch, was a burmese python that had bursted in its attempt to swallow… an alligator!

What about you? Do you have big goals and dreams? Where do you see yourself this time next year? By retirement time? In eternity? What tangible things are you “biting off” to make these goals reality? Do you have soul-winning and other spiritual goals? Would you like to be a “lighthouse Christian” whose example motivates many to be like Jesus? How big are you thinking?

How big can you think? Remember that Paul included Christ in the equation (Phil. 4:13), so he was ready to take on the biggest challenges. He evangelized the then-known world (Col. 1:23). He stood before the leaders of the greatest nation on earth, Festus, Felix, Agrippa, and ultimately Caesar, and preached Jesus to them (Acts 24-28; cf. Phil. 4:22; Lk. 21:12). He traveled perilous seas, enduring multiple, harsh beatings, and credible history says he was beheaded for His Lord (see 2 Cor. 11). Paul, through God’s strength, felt that he could change the world with Christ’s saving grace. Even though his wonderful ambition left him in the same ultimate state of our dislocated constrictor, what a memorable way to go. Unlike the spiritless snake, Paul’s efforts translate into everlasting benefits.

What are you ready to do for Christ? How far are you willing to go? What have you done to get started? Maybe we shouldn’t apply the cliche, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew,” to Christian aspirations. Within the authority of scripture, chomp away!

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