Most of us do not think of snails as being beautiful, but only as pests in our gardens. It is true that many things in God’s creation outwardly appear ugly to us, but God sees an inward beauty in them, sometimes visible to us only under a microscope.
Even the common garden snail has a rather pretty spiral house on its back. The outside of its shell is skin-like, the middle is much thicker, and the inside is coated with a thin, smooth, shiny surface. This shell has been designed by the Creator to provide a safe, comfortable home.
Among the thousands of kinds of snails in the world, some live on land, others live in water, and many spend their lives in trees. A number have very beautiful, valuable shells which some people collect. These include shells from some marine species with beautiful knobs, ridges and spirals. Among these beauties are the cowrie and olive varieties which are common in southern waters, and Hawaii and other Pacific islands have many tree snails with very pretty markings.
When the common garden snail hatches from its underground egg, it is fully formed, complete with a paper-thin tiny shell. It must immediately find food. Although it has poor eyesight, the Creator gave it a keen sense of smell which it uses to find what it needs. Working usually at night, its tiny tongue, which is covered with thousands of little hooks and sharp teeth, makes quick work of destroying tender plants and flowers. This is one reason why gardeners find them to be a real pest.
Another objection to snails is that they leave sticky and unsightly trails behind them. This trail, made by mucus from glands in a snail’s body, makes a soft cushion which is elastic, moist and so tough that it can crawl over the sharp edge of a razor blade and not be cut! It has been supplied by the Creator to protect the soft, tender underparts of the snail from the dry, rough surfaces it crawls over.
But not everything about snails is objectionable. Some people consider certain kinds as very good food. The shells of brightly colored snails are made into jewelry, buttons and other decorative objects. Also, there is one called the decollete which, instead of eating plants, kills and eats garden snails. This one is a real friend to gardeners.
Can it be that the Lord God cares about little creatures like snails? We are sure He does, for the Bible tells us that “the Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works. All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord” (Psalm 145:910).
But more than this, He has a special care for each person who has accepted Him as his very own Lord and Saviour and has trusted in His work on Calvary’s cross to take away his sins. Of these He says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish” (John 10:2728). Is He your Good Shepherd?
NOVEMBER 10, 1996
ML-11/10/1996