Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

It was one of those books we took out of the library often.
It was imaginative enough for my girls.
It was adventurous enough for my boys.
It was read over and over again getting laughs in all the right places.

Trinka Hakes Noble wrote the story for the young school-age child.
It was a story that led to discussions on cause and effect.
It started conversations about wisdom and foolishness.
It led to debates about the right and wrong of the thing.

The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate The Wash was a story about a class visit to a farm.
One of the students decides to take his pet boa constrictor along.
Needless to say, things get crazy.
For a child, the hilarious, slapstick adventure makes a delightful story.

Fiction?
Not so much.
I heard a similar story on the news radio station as I was getting dressed.
The reporter began the story: Where’s Samuel L. Jackson when you need him?

I knew the reference was to the movie Snakes On A Plane, which I never watched.
But what does that introduction have to do with local news?
I would soon find out.
Truth is actually stranger than fiction.

A 26-year-old man got on a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority bus.
He got on the bus before 3pm on a Sunday.
Unbeknownst to the driver, the man had a four-foot boa constrictor draped around his neck.
The man hid the boa constrictor under his jacket.

Somehow the boa constrictor got loose.
The snake coiled itself under a seat.
The escaped snake caused an emergency evacuation of the passengers on the bus.
A mechanic was called in to dismantle the seat so a transit police officer could retrieve the snake.

The snake was returned to its owner.
SEPTA allows riders to bring service animals or small, contained pets onto trains or buses.
This situation was a bit unique.
There is no decision as to whether charges will be brought against the owner of the snake.

Truth is stranger than fiction; the owner said he and his snake were heading to a pet store.
She had slithered out of my pocket on the way back and she got stuck in between the chairs.
Some people started to freak out because it was a snake on the bus.
They started talking about snakes on the plane.

She always stays inside (my pocket), the owner said.
But today she wanted to wander around because she was hungry.
The snake, named Red, finally got fed.
The meal was a rat.

I apologized to everybody, I didn’t mean for her to get out.
Most people accepted my apology, the owner stated.
The snake was safely removed.
The remaining passengers boarded another bus.

If this was a children’s book, there could be great discussions.
Cause and effect.
Wisdom versus foolishness.
Being in the right place at the right time.

About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time,”Do no call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. (Acts 10:9-16)

Peter did not understand the vision he had on the rooftop.
As a Jew, Peter kept all the dietary laws.
Never had he eaten anything that was considered unclean.
But now, it seemed as if God was giving him permission.

All the Jewish people respected Cornelius, a righteous centurion and God-fearer.
Cornelius sent some of his men to find Peter and bring him back with them.
Cornelius wanted to hear everything Peter had to say.
God was using Peter to bring the Gospel to Cornelius.

Peter, a Jew, invited the Gentile men into the house to be his guests.
That was unheard of in this culture.
A Jew did not go into a Gentile home.
A Gentile did not go into a Jewish home.

This seemed to be all wrong.
Truth is stranger than fiction.
God was doing something new.
God was breaking down barriers so the Gospel could go forth.

The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, ” I am only a man myself.” Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them, “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.” (Acts 10:23-28)

Michael Card wrote a song about this incident.
The title of the song is, I’m Not Supposed To Be Here.
The chorus captures the essence of the truth of the account.
The chorus echoes in each one of us as well.

You know I’m not supposed to be here
To cross the line no one has crossed before
To simply be one of the fools
That you’ve called to break the rules
And to go someplace I’m not supposed to be

The young man on the SEPTA bus broke a rule.
His boa constrictor was not supposed to be there.
He caused and fear in the passengers and jeopardized their safety.
What he did was wrong.

However, God sometimes calls each of us to a place we are not supposed to be.
A prison to visit inmates with the Gospel or an orphanage to bring hope to the children.
God may call us to reach out to the homeless, the outcast, the drug addict, or the alcoholic.
We want to say, I’m not supposed to be here.

If God calls us to that place, we are exactly where we are supposed to be.
Peter did not understand the meaning behind the sheet coming down filled with animals.
But through the Holy Spirit, Peter connected the dots.
God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.

No one is beyond the reach of the Gospel.
The only sin that will keep someone out of heaven is the sin of not believing in Jesus.
When we realize that truth, our perspective will be changed.
We are all unclean and impure until we come to Jesus alone for our salvation.

We are all in a place we are not supposed to be.
We were meant for a Garden.
We were meant for fellowship with God.
That was forsaken because of sin.

However God the Father, provided a Way.
That Way was through His Son, Jesus.
Jesus who came to earth and was not where He was supposed to be.
Jesus who came to earth so that we can return to the Place we were meant to be.