World Wide Webs

By Jim Jack

There are many kinds of wondrous and worrisome webs in the world. Are you familiar with the 1973 movie “Charlotte’s Web?” Linda and I saw it many years ago with our kids. The movie is about a spider named Charlotte who becomes a friend of the newest farm animal. Charlotte ends up being the savior of a pig named Wilbur. As you see Charlotte’s character develop, you learn she’s full of love and compassion.

Love and compassion should be overflowing from each one of us on a daily basis as true love and genuine compassion are two of God’s numerous characteristics. These characteristics should be readily visible and easily demonstrated in every human being.

Racers are consumed with some similar characteristics, but its love and passion for the sport of drag racing. It’s the dedicated love and personal passion for racing, and the excitable thrill of the competition that literally drives them. Racing can spin its web around you and around millions of others keeping you tightly bound in the clutches of the need for speed.

Is racing a web of deception? No. It is a web of conception. This racing conception—a new birth of sorts—can start at an early age, like it did with me. People aren’t born racers, but a competitive spirit found in many people rears its head in many ways, and some of these ways are discovered in the awe-inspiring world of motorsports, be it straight line, road course, circle track, or off-road.

Be advised my friends, motorsports can and will eat you up like a spider devouring her prey. Caught in the web of overwhelming desire for speed, competition, ingenuity, and human recognition, this web may tighten as you try and move to be the best, eventually holding on to you for a lifetime of vicarious and fierce competition.

Back to the movie: We find Charlotte spinning her web at the top of the barn door to catch her dinner. This catches the attention of Wilbur (who’s only looking for a friend) and he innocently asks her what the web is for? While conversing with her about its use, a fly gets trapped in the web: Wilbur asks, “Are you going to eat the fly?” Charlotte says, “No, I’m going to drink his blood.” This is a spine-tingling answer to the other farm animals that are listening to the conversation between the pig and spider. Some of whom may be eaten one day.

I’ve always been intrigued with spider webs, first, how they know how to spin them, and second, how they have the patience to just wait on the food to arrive. Think about it, there are many kinds of perilous webs in the world…we’re chillingly told…some are like fools gold…so become bold…and break free from the devils web hold. 

The devil spins a web of deception….racing spins their webs of attraction…please don’t get trapped up in some illegal transaction…seek the best traction…let’s not get caught in life’s chain-reaction…simply obey God’s plain-spoken action.

Racing spins a web of the need for speed. Life spins a web of intrigue. And, the Good News of God spins a web of love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, patience, self control to name a few of the circles of His universal web. Even the stars and planets spin around the universe creating a type of a glistening web for all to see every night.

Getting caught up in the web of racing doesn’t drink your blood, but it can drain you of just about everything else, your time, relationships, and other resources to feed the need for speed. This web has even been accused of never letting go of its prey. Are you familiar with the phrase, “On this trailer lies a disease for which there is no cure?” I’ve been around drag racing for sixty five years and that statement is true. But it’s a good disease if you go about in the proper way…on every race day…so enjoy the play…by simply learning what God has to say.

Relationship webs are the stickiest, and these emotional types of situations can entangle not just the body, but the mind and heart too. This kind can be hard to escape. Having your blood emotionally drained can be the toughest web of all to break free from.

Getting caught up in God’s web can lead to a life of being in His perfect will: Not a sticky world where you feel trapped, hopeless, and forsaken. God’s web doesn’t attempt to bring you in so He can drink your blood…one time He used a flood…now He wants to save you by His Son’s precious blood…because Jesus really is a Savior Stud… the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world is not a dud.

God’s web holds you tight in the arms of His love. God’s web holds you tight in the throngs of joy. God’s web holds you tight in the pleasure of peace. God’s web holds you tight in the grip of grace. God’s web holds you tight in comfortable compassion. God’s web holds you tightly forever in faithfulness. God’s web holds you tight in the hope of eternal life!

Life can be a web that gets you tangled up in many things. Worldly life can hold you tightly away from God. Life without God may feed you to the lions, not a small spider. I was caught up in a web of worldly things for forty years. Thankfully, Jesus’ web drew me in—through drag racing—and I’ve been spinning His web of truth ever since. What a joyful mission to help free others caught up in the godless mindset that’s so popular in today’s world.

The story of Charlotte’s Web is a story of friendship and salvation: A story of miracles. A story of a miracle birth. A story of a miracle friendship. A story of a miracle death. Does any of this sound familiar? Does it sound like the Bible? A friend that saves a friend from sure death. A friendship between a spider and a pig. A doomed friend saved because of love and compassion. A friend who gives his life for his friends. A friend who stands up for what is right. A friend that praises another friend. A friend who isn’t afraid to voice their opinion of a friend. A friend who proclaims the value of life. A friend who is humble enough to stay out of the way.

There are a few of ways to view this story. It can simply be a story between a couple of God’s very diverse creatures (a spider and a pig), it can be looked at as a fairy tale, or it can be looked at as a couple of individuals in the Bible. Charlotte could be imagined as God’s first mediator, Moses. The uncle could be looked at as God’s second mediator, Jesus. The cool thing is God makes Himself known in almost every life situation. When was the last time you saw God in an unusual situation? At the races? At home?  

The spider uses its web for survival, unfortunately in our ill-willed world, there is something called the Dark Web: “Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them,” (Ephesians 5:11 NLT). It’s a web that chiefly exists on the dark net used mainly for evil purposes, like black markets for stolen credit cards, stolen personal information, questionable firearms, malware, prostitution, sex trafficking and drugs.

God’s Heavenly Web is thousands of years old, with a network of millions of followers of Jesus Christ and it exists to share God’s Good News of eternal life through the shed blood of our Savior and Lord Christ Jesus. We are drawn into this web through God’s love demonstrated by the sinless life of Christ, His death on the cross, and His bodily resurrection from the grave.

Hebrews 9:12 says, “He [Jesus] did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” The real web of eternal conception—adoption—into the family of God is that God makes Himself known in almost every situation in our lives.

God’s Web revolves around His written Word. I hope and pray you love His Book as a very valuable possession and as a light to your path in a dark world. When we pray for you—drivers—at the races, we are referring to the Scriptures as your safe-passage-way when driving out on the track, and a bright light for your path wherever you may be. It teaches us that salvation is by innocent blood, through Christ, always by grace, always through faith.     

Thank God It’s Foreseeable to become caught-up in God’s Web. Ready to blast down the race track of life, knowing full well your eternal freedom has succeeded in getting you beyond this earthly life’s finish line. You’re now fit…to stand not sit…don’t need a catcher’s mitt…no need to get lit…time for wisdoms wit…I pray it’s something you finally get…your body, soul and spirit should be carefully knit…as God wants you to get more than a base hit…in the familiar confines where the track is perfect for driving right up into Heaven’s pit.