With the extreme cold weather we have had here in the south, varmints seek to find places of warmth. One morning, I walk into the kitchen and find shredded white plastic bits all over the floor. The night before, I had put a new trash bag in the receptacle, and the full trash bag I just set on the floor in front of the receptacle. Seeing the bits of plastic, I moved the filled trash bag only to find several holes in the bag with one big hole spilling out coffee grounds. “Oh me, we’ve got a rat in the house!” I proceed to set a large snap trap with peanut butter. The next morning I am lying in bed and as my eyes open to see the red digital clock reading 5:39, I hear the sound of a snap coming from the kitchen. I knew the sound. I bounce out of bed and with just my underwear on I rush to the kitchen. Sure enough, I find a rat. He had eaten the peanut butter and was lying beside the trap, still alive! Somehow, it hit him to only stun him. “Okay, so what am I going to do now? I’ve got a live rat that I’ve got to do something with quickly, and I don’t want to grab him with my bare hand; he might bite me.” I noticed in the trash receptacle a large envelope. I got the envelope and with it being used as a glove, I grabbed the rat. He started squeaking. “Okay, what am I going to do now? I’ve got this live rat in my hand and I can’t run outside in my underwear…” I notice an empty tin can in the trash. “Okay. I know what I can do.” I grabbed the can, held the rat against the wooden trap on the floor, placed the edge of the can on the neck of the rat, and applied enough pressure to hear multiple crunches. Then I knew that rat could do no harm. Now my job is to determine the entry points and address that so the rats cannot get in the house again. Sometimes we can have rats in our house spiritually – a bad perspective on life and bad attitudes.
Sometimes we can have rats in the house physically – sickness and disease. Jesus did the work so we can set the trap and deal with the “varmints” in our lives. We believe on him and call on him to undertake. We listen to what his direction is for us. We do what we must do to bring an end to the residency of the rat. It is not pleasant, but to keep from damage being sustained, we must deal with the rats. The good news is that Jesus did the work for us to be liberated in our spirit, soul, and body. This is what the gospel is all about – exterminating sin, sickness, and satanic oppression. The gospel is God’s rat trap.
