BUSY LITTLY BEES

Busy Little Bees

Work, work, work.  Go, go, go.  Buzz, buzz, buzz.  This is the life of a worker bee, traveling from flower to flower, carrying pollen here and there, in and out of the hive.  There are so many things that little bee has to get done by the end of the day.  And so little time: the life of the average honey bee is less than six months!

And, so, we have developed the expression, “busy as a bee” to describe someone who is excessively busy.  Man is very much like that little bee, working, going, buzzing about our daily lives.  We travel back and forth on commutes to and from work, spend half the day at a job and then have to go home to about a million tasks, chores, and projects.  Most people jam pack their days with activities from sunrise to sunset, and it begins to take a toll.

We read about another busy little bee in Luke, chapter 10.  A woman named Martha invites Jesus into her home and, like a good host, she sets to work making sure everything is just right.  Verse 40 says that Martha was “cumbered with much serving.”  Most women can relate.  When you have company, the house needs to be clean and in a certain order.  It is a show of good hospitality to offer food and something to drink.  Was not Martha being a good servant?

Certainly, Christians are supposed to show hospitality (I Peter 4:9).  We are to diligently serve one another with loving hearts (Galatians 5:13).  And, yes, we are to work hard and stay busy, thus avoiding many of the temptations brought on by idleness (Proverbs 13:4).  Christians should always find and have things to do that are honorable, just, and virtuous.

But where were Martha’s priorities?  When she saw that she was doing all of the work and her sister was doing nothing but listening at the feet of Jesus, she apparently became frustrated.  “Don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Tell her that she must come and help me,” she says in verse 40.  Martha was doing well by staying busy and serving, but she seemed to lack focus on that which was important.  The very fountain of eternal wisdom and life sat in her home and she was too busy to notice!

Work, work, work.  Go, go, go.  Buzz, buzz, buzz.  That’s how our lives get.  We spend our days running around like crazy, trying to get as many things done as possible, often mindlessly, with the urgency of a honey bee who only has six months to live.  Jesus told Martha that her sister Mary had prioritized correctly.  He said, “Martha, Martha, you worry and fuss over a lot of things, but there is only one thing you need” (41,42).  Our lives can get so busy, but let’s not forget the one thing we absolutely need to do: fill our hearts with the words and Spirit of Christ.

What does your daily to-do list look like?  Perhaps you have tasks such as go to the bank, wash the car, go shopping, fix the leak, etc. on that list.  But, do you have, daily bible reading or study, on that list?  Do you have, pray for a certain brother or sister, or visit a member of the church on your to-do list?  Often, when we assume that these kinds of things should be given in our lives, we fail to do them because they really aren’t on the list.  In our busy lives, we truly will have a lot of things to do, but do we prioritize the better things as Mary did? There are a lot of things that keep us extremely busy in this world that we ultimately regret doing.  But we will never regret anything we do in service to the Lord.  Consider adding (or moving to the top of) your daily to-do list the following:

1) Read a chapter of the Bible

2) Memorize a short passage of scripture

3) Call, visit, talk to a member of the local church

4) Say a prayer with someone else

5) Ask someone else about their religious beliefs

Jeremy Koontz  

TEST YOUR BIBLE KNOWLEDGE!

List the Ten Commandments God gave Moses on Mount Sinai.

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The Four Seasons

The recent wave of cold weather has left many of us a bit perplexed.  On our calendars, the season of Spring started way back on March 20^th, and here we are a week into April with 35-degree afternoons.  We even had a few days of warmth and sunshine to further add to the confusion.  When does one season end and another begin?

Well, as whimsical as the weather may seem sometimes, we need not worry whether or not the seasons are on track.  Indeed, God has promised that, as long as this world remains, we can always count on the progression of spring, summer, fall, and winter (Gen. 8:22).  Likewise, the Lord has created man to be born, to grow and develop, and to yield fruit in different seasons of our lives.  Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “for everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the sun.”  God has given purpose to each and every one of us, no matter what season of life when are in.

Spring – “Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth and walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes; but know that, for all these things, God will bring you into judgment.”  (Eccl. 11:9) Young people typically have fewer worries than older generations.  Yes, life is more fun in the spring of youth!  Experiences are new.  Tastes, sounds, sensations, freedom are still new to the mind of the young person, and so they should enjoy those things within the boundaries the Lord has set.  They usually don’t have loans to pay back, utility and phone bills are taken care of, they eat for free at their parent’s table…what a life!  But the wise man reminds them that they are still accountable for their choices.  In judgment, if they are of a soundmind and able to make their own decisions, youth will not be an excuse for transgression.

Young people, in the spring of their lives, are often mislabeled by older generations.  Young men and women, though generally lacking in experience and depth of knowledge, are just as capable of calling on the Lord, remembering the covenant they have with Him, and doing His will as any older person.  Young people need to be given more opportunities to serve and do well.  They need to be encouraged instead of discouraged, built up instead of torn down.

Truly, life is sweet for the young person, though they can hardly realize how sweet it is because they don’t know any other stage of life.  But the wise man reminds them that there will come a time when life and this world no longer seem as sweet.  “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them.” (Eccl. 12:1)

Summer – Time to get to work!  During the summer of our lives, we suddenly find ourselves with jobs, responsibilities, often families, mortgages, bills piled up to the roof.  Its busy, busy, busy!  The days are long and hot.  The work is endless.  But has the Lord not prepared those during this season with the lessons learned in youth, coupled with strength, vigor, and ambition?  The wise man speaks about the wise ant who works in the summer, storing up provisions and preparing for the fall (Prov. 30:25).

Those who are in the summer of their lives have to be particularly careful when it comes to how they apply their energy, strength, and knowledge.  Many Christians are so concerned with building up a savings account and making sure their investments are solid, that they misplace the strength and energy the Lord gave them to build up the local church.  As busy and active as we are capable of being in our daily lives, should we not be equally if not MORE active in the local body?Fall – “They that sow in tears will reap with joy.  He that goes forth and weeps, bearing seed for sowing, shall surely come again with joy, bringing sheaves with him.” (Psa. 126:5,6) In the fall of our lives, if we have diligently served the Lord and given our strength and reverence to him, we will surely begin to see how the Lord is blessing us.  Although life itself may be slowing down a bit, we start to look around and see the fruit of the labor.

We may or may not see material or financial gain, but spiritual blessings always seem to make more sense to older generations than they do to the younger.  They begin to see genuine glimpses of how the Lord operates and uses people and circumstances to accomplish His will.  Because of this, those in the fall of life are more equipped to admonish, teach, and guide younger generations.

Christians in the fall of life are typically those who might be under consideration for eldership, with faithful men and their wives having prepared themselves in previous seasons for that honorable service.  When we consider the qualifications of the elder in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1, we find these are qualities that were developed in the spring and summer of life, and now those men who’ve met those qualifications can enter that work in the fall.

Winter – Ecclesiastes 12 illustrates the winter of life with an aged house, in which the keepers of the house tremble, the once strong are bowed down, the grinders cease because they are few, the vision of those looking out the windows are darkened, and the sounds of voices and music are dimmed (v.3,4).  Those in the winter of life have reached that stage where the days have little material pleasure as it does for the youth.  Those in the winter of life are reminded that, soon, “the dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Those in old age are still children in the eyes of God.  They are, in fact, the children of God.  God has prepared them by His word for reconciliation, and the thought of leaving this material world brings but feelings of contentment and peace for those who have put their trust in the Lord.  But, as long as they are in this world, they still have a purpose.  They still have work to do in encouraging the brethren, contributing wisdom gained from having survived the other seasons of life with their faith intact, and preparing up-and-coming generations of God’s people (Titus 2:2-5).  Leviticus 19:32 says, “Thou shalt rise up before the grey-headed and honor the face of the elderly.” to an eternal work.  Though the season you are currently in will some day end, you can know that your contribution will continue to reverberate throughout the generations.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 says “God has made everything beautiful in its time.”  How beautiful it is to see the saints of God, of every age, in every season of life, working together, edifying and encouraging one another in love.