Tommie W. had just moved from Missouri to southeast Texas. He went to work in the shipyards there, and was making a good paycheck. He had made some friends, and things were really going well. When he got his first paycheck, he wanted to celebrate. He called a friend he had made, and asked if she would go out to supper with him. She accepted the offer, and they had a great time! After a long evening, it was getting really late, so they decided to head in.
As they passed a marina, Tommie thought a late night swim would be fun. They whipped into the marina, and went to the docks. There was a sign posted that said, “NO SWIMMING-ALIGATOR”. The owner of the marina had posted it because a large gator was lurking about the docks, and it had been acting aggressively toward patrons as they moored their boats. The alligator was about eleven feet long, so it was a potential threat to people who were in the water.
But Tommie defiantly remarked about the alligator, and ran to the edge of the dock and jumped in. He, being from Missouri, had no idea what a vicious predator an alligator is. Almost immediately upon hitting the dark, murky water he yelled out, and then disappeared from sight. His call for help alerted other people at the marina, but nothing could be done to rescue Tommie, he was gone!
Rescue personnel were called in, and after searching for an hour, they recovered Tommie’s body. It was found about a hundred yards from the marina. One of his limbs had been terribly lacerated by the powerful jaws of the alligator.
Tommie’s date was mortified, and told the authorities that despite the warning sign, and her personal pleas, he went into the water anyway.
How tragic! And yet, how senseless! If only Tommie had heeded the warning sign, and the pleas of his date! That alligator was a cold-blooded predator with no remorse or compassion.
The Bible warns us of a blood-thirsty predator that lurks in our very midst. He also takes without remorse, and is without compassion. God has posted warning signs, and many witnesses have made the plea to warn others of Satan’s merciless hunt for the unsuspecting. I Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
And Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
I wish Tommie would have heeded the warning about the alligator! I hope that you will heed the warning about Satan! Run into the safe and loving arms of Jesus! He loves you, and is compassionate. He offers life everlasting, and is incapable of harming those that come to him. Jesus is a friend!
Unlike Satan, whose only mission is to steal, to kill, and to destroy!
(Willie T. Welch, Pastor New Prospect Baptist Church, 691 Hwy 84 W Brookhaven, 601-754-8717)