Lessons from Ants - Working Together
Posted: Wednesday, June 17, 2009
by Mark Parsec
Wordcasters
We had some visitors at our church last week. I'm pretty sure that they were all related. You should have seen them all, as they were passing through the building; the line of them was soooo long that they went from one end of the church to the other. There were so many of them that I couldn't count them all. Oh, they were in the nursery and the foyer and the bathroom and they even went down into the basement. And they'll probably be coming back!
Now, I've got some bad news Our visitors were ANTS! And they ALWAYS come back!
But, isn't it interesting how we can get excited about some visitors and absolutely discouraged about other visitors?
I was so discouraged about these visitors that one of the deacons and I did everything in our power to make sure that they would never come back. We spent hours laying down powder, and pellets and spraying, and bleaching and mopping. We were so proud of ourselves! Of course, the next day the ants were back marching along from the bathroom in the nursery down into the church basement, which is of course, directly below the kitchen. Smart little fellers those ants.
And as I pondered upon our ant dilemma I thought Wouldn't it be nice if people were as determined to get into this church as the ants are?
Now, I could be wrong but I believe they must be Christian ants! And these aren't your ordinary Christian ants these are dedicated and loyal Christian ants. I mean coming to church seven days a week instead of just on Sunday Wow, if only people did that!
Nothing is stopping these ants, not even my sermons.
So, I started thinking about these Christian ants and started wondering why it is that they are so successful in their church attendance and I discovered a few things that I think we can all learn from them
First of all, I think we should know that the Bible speaks very highly of ants.
Proverbs 30:24-26 tells us:
24 "Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
So, let's look at some Christian Ant qualities today
1 Ants are Smart - Together
Now, first of all I think we could all agree with the Bible that ants are pretty dog gone smart. But, what most of us don't realize is that the brain of the average ant has about the same calculating power as a MacIntosh computer. And although it would take all the brains of an average ant colony of 100,000 ants to equal the size of one human brain Try going up against 100,000 MacIntosh computers and see who wins!
You see, what makes ants so smart is that they think together!
Similarly, when we as Christians think together we can find more solutions to our problems than when we try to figure things out all by ourselves. A good example of this is Bible study. By ourselves we may have questions that we can't find the answers to. But, when a couple of Christians get together, or a group of Christians get together, and study their Bibles, you'd be amazed at what they can discover!
1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
I want to encourage the members of this church, this colony of Christians, to put aside any differences you might have with one another and to find common ground through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on how we will accomplish the goals of this church. When we are perfectly united in mind and thought we will accomplish great things for God's Kingdom.
2 Ants are Strong- Together
Now, the Bible says that ants have little strength, and technically this is true. One ant can't lift up a dog or a cat or a newborn baby. But, ants can lift from 20 to 100 times their own body weight. That would the equivalent of a teenager being able to carry an automobile on their back!
Even more impressive, perhaps is that if the ant finds some food that is too big for him to carry, he'll get a couple of his friends and together they will carry it, or if it is still too heavy they will get a couple dozen of their friends together, and if it is still too heavy they will get a couple hundred of their friends together and together they will get the work done.
Oh that we could find enough Christians who were just willing to shoulder their part of the load, much less carry the load for 100 other Christians. There are a few of these kinds of workers in the church, but very few.
Now, although physical strength is admirable the Bible repeatedly emphasizes the importance of spiritual strength.
Zechariah 4:6 tells us: Not by might , nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
It is the Spirit of God that gives true strength and power. Some of Christ's last words to the disciples before he ascended into heaven concerned the power that Christians would receive.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
And in Acts 4:32-44 we are given a demonstration of the power the Christians received together where the Word of God says:
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
3 Ants Overcome All Obstacles - together
One of the lessons I learned from trying to eliminate the ant invasion of our church is that ants will overcome every obstacle they encounter. It doesn't matter if you attack them with powder, pellets, liquids or spray they will find a way around it, or wait until the effects have worn off, and then they will return. Why? Because, ants are determined and committed to the life of the colony. Dozens may fall, hundreds or even thousands may die but they don't give up. Together they will overcome.
As Christians we need to embrace that same philosophy. There are too many Christians that are trying to go it alone. There are too many Christians that give up the first time adversity comes their way. There are too many Christians who are not willing to make the sacrifices that are necessary to ensure the life of the colony. But, the Word of God tells us,
In Psalm 91:7 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
And Philippians 4:13 tells us, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Now, you may have noticed in the examples we just looked at that in each of these three qualities of ants, they all had one thing in common. The word TOGETHER. Ants are successful because they do things together. Ants work together because that's what ants like to do. No one has to watch over them to make sure they are doing their job.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we learned how to work together like ants?
I want to offer you a vision today a dream. Just imagine right now, where your church could be in 30 days, 60 days or 90 days if each one of us worked together to the best of our ability to build the Kingdom of God in this little piece of the kingdom He has given us. The rewards are great power in the Spirit of the Lord, freedom from sin and despair, and the joy of hearing Him say to us on that day when we see him face to face " Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of the Lord."
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