Oh to be Ant-like

-

Scripture
 
Prov. 6:6        Go to the ant, you lazybones;
        consider its ways, and be wise.
7     Without having any chief
        or officer or ruler,
8     it prepares its food in summer,
        and gathers its sustenance in harvest.
9     How long will you lie there, O lazybones?
        When will you rise from your sleep?
10     A little sleep, a little slumber,
        a little folding of the hands to rest,
11     and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
        and want, like an armed warrior.

Observation

The ant is so tiny, and yet it will achieve things far beyond it’s own strength. We are to consider the work of the ant and learn what it means to work in God’s kingdom.

The ant has an incredible harvest, one that is the result of the ant’s labors. Just imagine the little ant that sneaks into the kitchen and walks off with the crumb of food. We don’t stop the ant because we are fascinated that such a little creature could carry something so large. In awe and wonder we simply let the ant go about its work, and its harvest is completed — needs met.

In contrast is the lazy individual who spends far too much time in bed. Sleeping, resting, not working — and poverty will be the result. Just as daily food is necessary for life, so are we to labor in proportion to our strength. The call is to be ant-like.

Application

The tiny ant is able to accomplish much because the ant stays on mission. Working hard and harvesting more than appears to be possible, the ant makes progress by sticking at it day after day after day.

Working hard has gone out of fashion in some circles. I’ve heard owners of construction companies say that it’s hard to find good laborers these days. That, without our immigrant populations, we would have no construction industry because, for the majority population, doing that kind of manual labor seems to have no appeal. At the same time, there is a desire to have everything that the world has to offer. How will this be accomplished if we are unwilling to put in the hard work of the ant?

Our spiritual lives also require ant-like effort. We cannot lie around and imagine that God will supply every need if we are unwilling to become active participants in the work. We are asked to partner together with God in God’s mission. By doing this God empowers us with ant-like strength to work and to do more than we could ever even imagine. Just as the ant carries off more than its weight in food, so we are able to carry off more kingdom work than it would appear we are able to complete.

We are to labor at getting to know God through spiritual discipline. This includes making time for the Lord, spending time in prayer and the word, and then participating in kingdom work. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world, and when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit we may be able to accomplish far more than we could ever ask or imagine! Sounds biblical, doesn’t it?

The ant doesn’t worry, but simply lives into what it means to be an ant. We are not to worry, but we are simply to live into what it means to be a child of God. Every day we are to be nourished by God’s holy presence and then work hard in this world, participating in God’s kingdom business. This is what it means to be ant-like.

Prayer

Lord, please help me live and work together with you, just as the ant. Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more