The Story of Mariann’s Heart
Part 2
See also: Part 1
A terrible sin snake had been living in Mariann’s heart, but now Jesus had come inside and crushed it…
Chapter Three: A New Friend
Mariann stared at the snake lying at her feet. Was it really dead? She held tightly to Jesus’ hand and felt the power of His presence beside her. The snake couldn’t bother her any more, because Jesus had destroyed it. Then she saw the two piercing fang-marks in Jesus’ feet.
Tears filled Mariann’s eyes. Jesus had suffered to save her from the terrible sin snake! How could she thank Him? As she looked up into Jesus’ face, she saw a glorious crown of love sparkling on His head. Falling to her knees she whispered, “Lord, thank You for saving me!”
Jesus, the Snake-Destroyer, smiled tenderly. “Dearest Mariann, I have delivered you from the power of sin so that you can be Mine.” Reaching down, He grasped the snake by its tail. “Are you ready to throw out this snake and its evil works forever?”
Mariann looked at the black creature dangling in her Savior’s hand. How big and ugly it was! “Yes, I want to do right from now on,” Mariann said. “I will tell others that I’m sorry for the things I’ve done wrong. I want to be a true Christian girl.”
With a mighty swing of His arm, Jesus flung the snake out of her heart and life. No longer would Mariann be controlled by its slithering coils. Jesus had set her free!
It was a wonderful feeling to fall asleep that night. Mariann had never felt so peaceful inside before. No snake was squeezed away in a jar, waiting for its chance to get out. Mariann never wanted to have sin control her again. She wanted to love and please Jesus now.
The first thing, of course, was to do what she had promised Him. As soon as she could, Mariann talked to her grandpa. It wasn’t easy to tell him about hiding the thing she had broken. But when he smiled and forgave her, how happy Mariann was! When Mariann saw Bertha again, she told her that she was sorry for the bad games they had played together. “I’m not going to live that way any more,” she said. Each time Mariann confessed the things she had done wrong and asked forgiveness, she could feel Jesus’ hug around her heart. How much better it felt than all the shivery coils of the snake!
For the next couple months Mariann enjoyed being a happy Christian girl. On the outside she seemed just about the same as before, but inside her heart everything was different. The best part was when she went aside to some quiet place and Jesus came to visit. Mariann would thank Him for caring for her and being her Friend. Jesus had many wonderful promises to show her in the Bible, and Mariann tried very hard to obey. But sometime she had problems, and she had to ask Him for help.
One of the problems Mariann discovered outside her heart door one evening.
“Hey, remember me?” a voice hissed. “I have some good ideas to talk over with you.”
Mariann shivered at the sound, and it seemed she could almost feel the snake coiling around her. But how could that be? Jesus had crushed the sin snake and thrown it out, remember?
Mariann heard the slithering of snake scales and her heart began to pound. “Go away!” she cried, but suddenly she felt weak all over. “Help me, Jesus!” she called. In a moment the snake was gone and Mariann could hear the familiar step of Jesus outside.
When she opened the door, Mariann felt ashamed. She knew Jesus hated snakes and one had almost come in her heart! Was He angry with her? No. His voice was gentle when He said, “I heard you call for help. Why were you afraid?” So Mariann told Him about hearing the old familiar hiss at the door.
“I thought that there wasn’t any sin snake left,” she said sadly.
Jesus looked serious. “Mariann, there are many sin snakes left in the world. It was the one in your heart that I destroyed. But the devil, the father of all sin snakes, will be sure to send more snakes to come and tempt you. They want to come in and take over your heart again.”
“Oh, dear!” cried Mariann. “What can I do to get rid of them? They are too strong for me!”
Jesus looked at her and smiled. “Are they too strong for Me?”
Mariann shook her head. She knew what He meant. If she called for His help, He would chase away the temptations when they came. Jesus could keep her safe from sin snakes.
Chapter Four: Snake Attacks
Mariann learned that she often had to call for Jesus’ help. Sometimes she waited too long and the temptation snakes would sneak in for an attack. They seemed to know just when she was feeling lazy or hadn’t spent time with Jesus for awhile. Then one would curl up by her door and try to distract her. “You don’t have to obey your mom right now,” it might whisper. “You need to finish that book.” Or it might remind her of the dark snake holes and try to get her thinking about something wrong. If Mariann didn’t call for Jesus right away, the old poison in her mind would make her weak. Before she realized it she would be opening her heart to the temptation and a sin snake would slip inside.
When Mariann felt the slithery scales begin to wrap around her mind again, she tried to push it away. Of course, the snake was stronger than her. Suddenly Mariann realized she was overpowered and she felt terrible. “I don’t want to listen to you!” she would cry. “Please, Jesus, help!”
Usually just the sound of footsteps outside was enough to make the snake let go. When the mighty Snake-Destroyer appeared, Mariann felt ashamed. She knew He was disappointed in her. “Why didn’t you call sooner? I was waiting for you,” He asked quietly, after he had thrown the snake out. Mariann hung her head. “I will try to do better next time,” she whispered.
Mariann tried to keep away from snakes—especially the big bad ones. But sin snakes are tricky creatures. Often, when she wasn’t paying attention, a little “I think best” snake would whisper ideas through her heart window. “You need to make your sister behave, because she isn’t doing what Mom said,” it would say. Or, “You are really good at drawing, so you should show your friends what you can do.” It was hard for Mariann to ignore the friendly little creature and often she would listen to it instead of asking Jesus. But it got her into trouble more than once.
“I didn’t know that little white thing was a snake!” she said in surprise, when Jesus warned her about the selfishness snake. “It looks so gentle and nice.” “Sin snakes are very sneaky,” Jesus replied. “They know just how to slip through the cracks and get your attention. You must watch and pray.”
Other snake attacks were much more scary. Sometimes at night dark pictures would appear on Mariann’s heart wall. “This is what will happen to you!” an evil voice hissed. Mariann’s heart pounded with fear and she felt weak all over. Maybe if she kept away from scary places those evil snake-pictures wouldn’t show up so much. Of course, if she kept close to Jesus they wouldn’t come at all. But Mariann was used to doing things her own way, and so she tried hard to manage without too much help. When would she learn that she needed a stronger power to keep her safe?
Chapter Five: The King Inside
It was on Mariann’s fourteenth birthday that she began to see what was the matter. It was one of those days that everything goes wrong. Like most girls, Mariann wanted to feel important on her birthday. But she knew Jesus didn’t want her to be selfish, so she tried very hard to be nice, even when things didn’t go her way. “It is really too bad you had to give up your plans,” a white snake whispered after awhile, “now your day won’t be much fun.” As Mariann listened, she began to feel quite grumpy inside. “What an attitude!” a golden snake scolded then. “You must not love Jesus very much since you are so selfish.” Yes, it was a bad day. Mariann didn’t feel like a happy birthday girl at all!
After it was all over, Mariann talked to Jesus about it. “Why did I ruin everything?” she moaned. “I wanted to have a good day. What went wrong?” When Jesus asked if her heart window had been left open, she nodded slowly.
“That selfish snake isn’t staying so little,” Jesus told her. “What can I do about it?” asked Mariann. “You can shut the window when it starts talking,” Jesus said. Mariann hung her head. “I don’t seem to remember very well,” she said at last, with a sigh. “And I can’t keep the other sneaky snakes away either!” Mariann didn’t see Jesus smile. He had been waiting for her to admit it. “That’s right,” He agreed. “You can’t keep your heart snake-free. But I can.”
Mariann looked up at Jesus’ face. What was He trying to tell her? She knew He hated sin snakes and didn’t want her to listen to them. She also knew He would chase away the snakes when she called Him. But there was something in His earnest look that made her almost afraid. He stood so strong and commanding. What did He want?
“I love you and want to please you, Jesus,” Mariann said softly. She knelt and touched the scars in His feet, remembering the day He had delivered her from the snake in her heart. Why did He care so much about her? Because He wanted her, Mariann suddenly realized. He wanted her heart—not just as a place to visit and help, but to reign in it. He wanted to be her King.
The crown of love on Jesus’ head suddenly looked very bright and terrible, and Mariann felt very small. Why did she tremble? She wanted to be loved and safe, but something inside was afraid. What would this King want? Would He tell her to do things she didn’t like? One thing Mariann knew, if Jesus was the King of her heart then she couldn’t be the boss any more.
Mariann had always liked to be the boss. She felt very responsible and tried to manage everything as she thought best. Since the snake inside had been destroyed, she had been trying to keep her heart in order, and she didn’t like anyone else to mess with it. Now, at last, she was beginning to see it wasn’t working. But could she trust Jesus to take care of everything for her?
Of course Jesus could take care of everything. Mariann knew that. But could she really give up her heart to Him? Oh, Mariann! If she could have seen how trashed everything was with old snake-skins and cracks in the walls, I think she would have asked the King to come sooner. But she couldn’t see what He did. She didn’t know the wonderful plans and blessings He wanted to fill her heart with. Instead, she wondered if she could trust Him. How patient and kind Jesus was to such a foolish girl!
Mariann made her surrender at last. Her very own heart room, every dream and idea of how to manage herself, and the fearful pictures and worries, too—all was laid before Jesus. “I don’t know how to take care of my heart. Please take over,” she said, kneeling before Him. “I am going to trust You from now on to be my Lord and Master, my King.” And even though she didn’t know really what she was saying, the King of Love knew what she meant. Quietly He stepped into her heart and held out His golden scepter.
As Mariann touched it, quiet peace filled the room. “Here I am, my Lord. All is Yours.” A beautiful smile lighted Jesus’ face. “You have given Me My heart’s desire, Dearest,” He whispered, lifting her up to stand beside Him. Mariann’s heart glowed with a joy she had never known before. Whatever the problems or troubles ahead, she would face them holding Jesus’ hand.
Epilogue
It has been over 18 years since Jesus became King of Mariann’s heart. Though He has changed and rearranged many of her plans and dreams, Mariann has never been sorry for the choice she made that day. She has learned that Jesus knows her heart perfectly and His way is always best. Yes, there have been troubles and trials—even a few snake attacks—but Mariann has learned to trust her Defender. Today she says that she still holds the hand of her dearest friend, the King of her heart.