Ant Lessons

I moved this weekend.  I basically moved up one floor and over a hallway.  The place is bigger, with a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.  It was quite filthy when I went to take a look at it, but with the help of two ladies who work where I live we got it cleaned up pretty quick.  However, they discovered a bat family that lived in the ceiling above my closest and I think there is still something up there because every morning I find dirt from the ceiling space in my closet.  Also, my refigerator has become over run with ants and I don't think it is really working as none of my food was cold.  Oh well =).  I'm sure I will figure something out to take care of them.  I have used bleach, hairspray, water, instant death by smashing them, and yet they still persist. I had to throw away cheese and butter yesterday. It may be silly, but please pray the ants will leave me alone! It wouldn't be so bad, but since they are in my refigerator I don't know how to protect my food.  Really, in a lot of ways the place is nice with a sitting area and stove.  The bathroom sink is larger for washing my dishes, since I am still without a kitchen sink.  There are plans for redoing the apartment, but that won't happen until the end of my time here in Nicaragua.  I have two fans, lots of space, more utensils, plates and bowls.  The ants and bats are just adventures along the journey.  Frankly, it could be a lot worse.   I don't have any pictures yet of the new apartment, but I will try to post some soon. 

Ants are interesting creatures.  I think we have some lessons to learn from them.  They are incredibly persistent.  They just won't quit.  No matter how many I kill, they always return.  Their job is to find food and that is what they will do.  In many ways this is how we should live and work for God.  In persistence - without giving up.  We should be in constant prayer and lifting up our requests to God.  After all didn't the persistent widow finally get the judge to give her justice? Jesus's intended purpose for the parable was to show the importance of persistent, constant prayer and faith (Luke 1-6).

Ants work as a team.  Ants scout for food and once food is found they form a trail from the food to the nest.  They work together to get the job done.  They cooperate to support the whole.  Wikipedia, the oh so trusted internet source, says this: "The colonies are sometimes described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ants). I believe as Christians we should to operate as an unified entity. Not that we will always agree with each other, but that in the in the midst of the disagreement or difference in opinion that we still support each other and love each other as Christ loves us.  As 1 Thessalonians 5:13 says "Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part" (The Message Version).  

One thing that ants don't seem to do very well is to learn from their mistakes.  While, persistence is a good thing, to never learn that maybe their is another more effective way to do something is not a positive trait.  You would think after realizing that so many of their ants friends are dead they would find a new food source.  One, which would still feed the colony, but would spare the lives of others in their community.  As Christians, we should learn and grow.  We shouldn't keep doing the same things that hurt us or hurt others around us.  We should even be willing to change our ministry programs or how we minister if the current method keeps failing.  We should have confidence in God to be able to say "I messed up" and then begin to fix or change things.  This can be a sin or this can be simple a methodolgy or way of doing things. Again in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 when discussing the time and hour of Christ return, "He won't call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would.  About the time everybody's walking around complacently, congratulating each other - 'We've sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!' - suiddenly everything will fall apart.  It's going to come as suddenly and iescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman".  So, we should be on our toes, aware, never status qou, constantly learning from our mistakes and mistakes of others. 

Enough said on lessons from ants for today.  "May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together - spirit, soul and body - and keep you fit for the coming of our Master Jesus Christ.  The One who called you is completely dependable.  If he said it, he'll do it! 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.    

(The pictures are all from a google search for ants, mistake and dependable.)