Foxes of Martin Top

A few weeks ago, after I locked up the chapel and began my cycle home, I saw a fox on Long Lover Lane. At first, I though it was a dog or large cat, but its bushy tail helped to correctly identify it. It saw me, but it was not afraid. Though it walked away, there was no urgency. It is almost as though it wished to communicate to me its lack of fear. I took this for a hint of arrogance, but a kinder interpretation would call it confidence. It knew I was no red-coated huntsman and it slunk away about its business as though I had not been there.

British public opinion on foxes varies. Many townies consider them to be adorable, if occasionally annoying for upsetting the rubbish bins. A couple of folk at our chapel keep hens, and they entertain somewhat different views. Surprisingly, Satan is not likened to a fox in scripture, but Herod Antipas certainly is, and by the Lord Jesus Himself in Luke 13:32. Foxes characterise many of the politicians of our own day, too: wily, cunning and often rather dangerous. Their view of Christians is a mixture of indifference and growing hostility. They are a frequent feature of life in this world, but not life in the world to come. Herods come and go, but with different names. The Great Hunter is coming, however, who will deal with these dangerous little potentates once and for all. 

Image by Gianluca Molina from Pixabay