GO TO THE ANT

Go To the Ant

While living in Queensland I was surprised to see an army of ants, like pygmies carrying elephant tusks on their shoulders in an old Tarzan movie, cart off my toenail clippings to their colony under ground in my garden! I recalled the verses: “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.” Proverbs 6:6-8. Man, even the lazy man, can gain some wisdom through the study of the creatures God has made.

Who calls the shots in the ant colony? It’s clear that ants work for God. He designed them to do what they do. As part of God’s great cleanup team, it appears that not even discarded toenail clippings are to be wasted! Though many, the colony acts as one. God is social, for God is many (Triune) yet acts as one. Thus we see a reflection of the Designer in the ant colony. Since ants are social creatures, a lazy ant would be an antisocial ant. No Person in the Trinity lies back while the Others attend to Him. Each Person in the Godhead serves God who is one. The industrious ants serve God. So should we.

But who calls the shots with man? Was man, like the ant, designed to serve God? If so, then are not those who ignore serving God being lazy, i.e., antisocial? For God made man in His own image with the ability to dialogue with God (Gen. 1:27; 2:16&17). And as  worker and guard ants work in and guard their colonies, so God set man to work in and guard the Garden (Gen. 2:15).

The queen ant is the single producer of all the offspring in the ant colony. Eve was the mother of all living (Gen. 3:20). Adam failed to guard Eve by allowing the Serpent Satan to slither into the Garden. In this Adam was lazy, antisocial toward God. Like a worker having a fly smoke, so Adam hid from God after he ate the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:8). But where there’s smoke there’s fire! How was Adam going to clean up the mess he had gotten mankind into? And so the blame game began. Adam blamed God his Supervisor, and he also blamed Eve his co-worker for his present demise (Gen. 3:12). The whole social structure of mankind was now in turmoil. Both humanist socialism in its various forms, and individualism are rebellious ways fallen man tries to hide from God. For the Triune Creator is a social Being. Man is His image. The many must not rule the one or the one the many. As in God, the one and the many must have equal ultimacy.

God started a new social colony when His Son, the Middle Person in the Trinity, became also Man and entered His creation. He is Head of the cleanup team, His Church. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” John 3:17. Jesus carried His cross and went to take away the sin of the world. (Isa. 53:4-6; John 1:29; 19:17). Then His followers carried their crucified Captain, Overseer and Ruler and laid Him in a tomb in a garden (John 19:38-42). He emerged bodily from the ground on the third day (Luke 24:6&7). After physically ascending to Heaven the Son, with the Father, sent out the Holy Spirit (John 15:26; 16:7).

Presently His ‘colony’ is spreading itself throughout all creation as His Spirit works effectively with His Word in people’s hearts, cleansing them. While on earth the pure in heart are part of God’s ‘cleanup team.’ Who calls the shots? “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14. For “There is one body and one Spirit…” Ephesians 4:4a

Dear reader, do you know the joy of having your sins carried away by Jesus Christ? Don’t be a sluggard! Be wise. Go to the ant and call on Jesus today.