Say What???

For those of you who have been reading my musings for a while, hopefully you have picked up on the fact that my faith is pretty strong and unshakeable.  You will have also noticed that on occasion I will share with you something that just doesn't make sense to me in the Bible.  Today I am going to join those to themes. 

Mark 16:15-18(NKJV)

15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 

16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 

17And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 

18they£ will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Wow.  Now some of them I have no problem with.  The two that get me are handling snakes and drinking poison.  Excuse Me? 

I'm sorry but I'm not going to try either one!  But wait a minute.  Isn't that a lack of faith on my part?  After all the words above are a quote from Jesus Himself at the end of the Book of Mark. 

This is one of those things in the Bible that just leaves me shaking my head.  There are congregations down south that actually practice this stuff but it just seems weird to me.  The story from the Bible that comes to mind when I see this is Jesus being tempted by Satan.  Jesus said something to the effect of do not put God to the test.  Playing with snakes and drinking poison would seem to fit that description pretty good in my opinion. 

But Jesus said it! 

I know and that is what confuses me.  Does it challenge my faith?  Not at all.  I think in the greater scheme of things it is relatively minor.  But you can be sure it is going on my list of things to ask God to explain to me some day!