Seventy-four-year-old Mr. Wilbanks was sitting near his house by a pond, enjoying the beautiful weather while his puppy ran around, exploring. Suddenly, out of the corner of Mr. Wilbanks’ eye, he saw an alligator dart out of the pond and grab the puppy in his jaws. In a flash, the alligator turned and swiftly reentered the pond holding the dog in its mouth. Mr. Wilbanks said he never knew before that an alligator could move that fast!
Mr. Wilbanks might have been 74 years old, but he didn’t act like it. Without the least hesitation, he lunged out of his chair and plunged into the murky pond water. In the waist-deep water he saw the alligator with the dog near the bottom of the pond. He clamped his knee down on the alligator’s back and pinned it to the bottom of the pond. Then he reached down with both hands and grabbed it by the snout. Being a strong man, he lifted the 4- or 5-foot gator with the dog clamped in its mouth right out of the water and held it at arm’s length.
With a few steps he sloshed out of the pond. Then he shifted his hands so he could pull the gator’s jaws open and release the dog. Though he was pulling as hard as he could, the jaws of the animal were stronger and remained shut. Mr. Wilbanks didn’t give up. He pulled and pulled until the jaws opened and his dog fell to the ground. Then he turned and tossed the gator back into the water.
He brought the dog to a vet who stitched up a puncture wound and kept it in the animal hospital to keep an eye on it for a few days before releasing it back to Mr. Wilbanks’ care.
Mr. Wilbanks also had his hands roughed up from grabbing the inside of the gator’s mouth, so a doctor gave him a tetanus shot to prevent infection.
The alligator? He is still swimming around in the pond. Mr. Wilbanks just figures it was doing what alligators do, and he will keep his dog on a leash from now on to prevent it from happening again.
It’s a good thing that alligator wasn’t much bigger or Mr. Wilbanks never would have been able to force its jaws open. An alligator’s jaws with all those teeth is a fearsome thing.
This story reminds me of another story about a shepherd boy who was watching his flock of sheep. A lion came out of the nearby wilderness and snatched one of the sheep. The shepherd boy could have thought, “It’s only one small sheep,” and ran the other way. But he didn’t. Instead, he ran to the lion and snatched the lamb from the lion’s jaws. When the lion rose up to attack the boy in retaliation, he grabbed it by the beard and killed it. The boy’s name was David, and you can read this exciting story in 1 Samuel 17 in the Bible.
Come to think of it, both the story of the alligator and the story of the lion remind me of the great truth that every believer in Jesus Christ has been snatched from the jaws of death too. Through sin, the great enemy of our souls, the devil, had gotten power over us. In our natural strength we were helpless against him. If we had been left to ourselves, he would have dragged us off to an eternal death. He was in the process of doing this and would have succeeded, but Someone much stronger and mightier than ourselves came to our rescue. Who is this rescuer? None other than the Lord Jesus Christ. On the cross He died for sinners so we can go free. “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:33For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (1 Corinthians 15:3)). After He died, He arose out of the grave, completely victorious over the power of death. Because of what He did at the cross, all who believe in Him receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)).
You must not think the devil only has people who have fallen deeply into sin clamped in his jaws. Every human being has come under his deadly power through sin and is in danger of being carried off to the darkness of a lost eternity. It is really a life-and-death situation for every one of us.
The lamb and the dog didn’t need to ask to be rescued. Sinners do need to come to the Lord Jesus to save them. God created us without our permission, but He will never save us without our saying “yes” to Him. The Lord Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ... that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)).
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:1515This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)). Only when a sinner repents and comes to the Lord Jesus in faith will He save them from sin and death. All who believe in Christ are saved from the jaws of death.
Messages of God’s Love 8/1/2021